The Princess and the Wolf
by MCMGlove
Summary: A honor student at Mountain View high school gets her life turned upside down when she meets Derek Hale.
1. Chapter 1

"You are such a princess!" Elizabeth taunted as she threw her best friend a judging sideways glance.

"You're damn right I am!" Aurora whined dusting off the bottom of her pants where she had had an unfortunate incident with a mud puddle. "I hate camping! I do not even know how you talked me into this."

"Being the princess' best friend has its advantages." Elizabeth said with a smirk.

"Ha! You best believe peasant." Aurora teased as she snapped her fingers in a Z for dramatic affect.

"Girl, you better watch it. I will leave your royal ass to die in these woods if you call me peasant again." Elizabeth warned folding her arms across her chest.

"I'm just kidding Lizzie! You know you are my lady in waiting." Aurora said putting her arm around her best friend. "Now, let's get some freaking fire wood before they send out the search party for us back at camp."

"Pff, you really think Stacy gives one fuck about us getting lost in the woods? She probably sent us out here praying that we would fall in a ditch." Elizabeth said picking up a large branch that she found near the tree they were standing under.

The woods were thick and fogging. Frankly, they were downright terrifying. The only thing keeping the girls for losing it was the fact that they grew up near these woods. It was like having the Dark Forest adjacent to their houses. You either had to deal with the creepiness or cry every time your dad asked you to take out the trash.

"That's totally fine. I hope she falls in a ditch every time I see her perfect bitchy face. People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, right? Aurora joked. "I do want to know whose bright idea it was to make the captain of the cheerleading squad head of this stupid field trip though. And why the hell would our school combine a cheerleading event with a National Honor Society event. And who the actual fuck picked camping?! In Georgia no less, in the middle of freaking winter!"

"Oh. My. God. Shut up. Your majesty is giving me a headache." Elizabeth said slowly, the twang of her southern accent hanging on the end of each word. She then began to messaging her temples acting as though she were in agonizing pain.

"Just sayin'…" Aurora laughed.

They walked a little further into the woods, grabbing a couple of twigs here and there talking about school and enjoying each other's company. They had both lost track of time until Aurora was all too aware of how dark it was getting.

"Shit. We need to get back. How long have we been out here?" Aurora asked Elizabeth.

Elizabeth looked at her watch and made a disgusted face.

"Holy hell. We left at five, right?

Aurora nodded her conformation

"It's six thirty! I told you that dumb bitch didn't care if we died!" Elizabeth said in outrage.

"I can't believe no one has come looking for us." Aurora said slowly, looking around the dense woods. "Unless they have, and they just can't find us. We are pretty deep in. I wasn't paying attention…Do you know how to get back?" Aurora's voice had gone dry as she started to panic.

"Oh Lord A, of course I…" Elizabeth's voice trailed off. She was looking around, her eyes darting back and forth to each possible exit. "Um…didn't we come in this way?" she asked pointing to her left.

"We should give it a try. Your cell doesn't have service by any amazing possibility, does it?" Aurora asked with a glimmer of hope, her own phone in her hand with a large 'No Service' sign on the screen.

"Nice try your highness." Elizabeth said trying to joke turning the screen of her phone toward Aurora revealing the same red 'No Service' sign.

"Can't blame a girl for trying." Aurora joked back in an attempt to hide her growing panic.

They walked in the direction they thought they had come from, tripping over small roots and rocks as they stumbled their way through the quickly darkening woods. It wasn't long before they could barely see a thing.

"What the hell was that?!" Elizabeth nearly screamed as she grabbed ahold of Aurora's arm.

"What was what?" Aurora asked as calmly as she could, although her heart was about to beat out of her chest.

Elizabeth didn't answer. She just stood there, frozen on the spot. Following her gaze, Aurora immediately saw what had stopped Elizabeth in her tracks. Two pairs of golden brown eyes were staring intently back at them.

"What should we do?" Aurora asked in a scared whisper.

"Back up…slowly." Elizabeth said taking a step back tugging on Aurora's arm to make her follow.

As if the disembodied eyes knew what the girls planned to do, two low warning growls filled the air.

"Run Aurora, run!"

Aurora obeyed and took off after her friend who had ahold of her hand and was basically dragging Aurora behind her. Elizabeth had always been Aurora, in races, playing tag, timed test, everything. Aurora never thought it would mean the difference between life and death or she definitely would have put in extra hours on the treadmill.

Aurora lost track of how long they had been running when Elizabeth found a place to hide.

"What the hell is chasing us?" Aurora stammered between gasps of breath crouching down in the hiding place Elizabeth had stuffed them in which was located between two large boulders covered by a few low hanging tree branches.

"I have no idea, but we can't stay here very long. I'm guessing mountain lions or wolves. Either one will be able to sniff us out in a heartbeat." Elizabeth whispered as she moved out of the kneeling potions that she was in, clearly getting ready to run.

"Lizzie, I can't." Aurora almost sobbed. She was so scared and her body refused to move.

"A, you can. We have to put as much distance between us and whatever blood thirst animals are chasing us. I don't know about you, but I can't think of any fairy tales where the princess gets nommed on by wild beasts, can you?" Elizabeth asked placing a comforting hand on Aurora's back.

"I love you Lizzie." Aurora said with a tear rolling down her face as she gave her friend a side hug due to the awkward potion they were in between the two rocks.

"I love you too, A. We are gonna be fine. Now, let's move our asses." Elizabeth said grabbing Aurora's hand again and launching them forwarded.

As they started to run again, Aurora felt her body refusing to keep up with Elizabeth. Somewhere in all of the tree dodging and branch evasion Elizabeth had let go of Aurora's hand. Aurora tried as hard as she could to keep up with Elizabeth, fighting the undeniable pain in her right side. Of course, this was the perfect time to get a cramp.

"Lizzie I-…" Aurora was about to tell Elizabeth she needed to stop for just a moment, when Aurora tripped over a huge tree root.

It took her a minute to drag herself up from the ground, but when she did, Aurora was hit with the overwhelming reality that she was completely alone. She could vaguely hear Elizabeth's voice in the distance frantically screaming for her. Aurora tried to yell back but her head was clouded and her voice wouldn't work. She must have hit her head really hard.

"Alright, Aurora. Find your friend and get the hell out of the creepy woods before you become a chew toy. You might be a princess, but you are no damsel in distress." Aurora reassured herself out loud.

Looking around she decided the best course of action would be to keep heading straight which was the way her and Elizabeth were running before she had fell. It was pitch black now, and Aurora had no choice but to use her phone as a makeshift flashlight.

"Lizzie!" Aurora called out into the darkness trying not to stumble over her own feet. Her head was throbbing and she felt really sick to her stomach. "Lizzie!" She called again. Probably not the best idea Aurora ever had considering whatever was chasing her could probably hear her, but she was not about to leave without her best friend, and she knew Lizzie was doing the same.

Aurora kept walking, praying she would find Lizzie soon, when she had a twig snap behind her. Aurora felt as if her heart was trying to pound its way out of her chest. Turning slowly, she met the gaze of a huge, scratch that, giant wolf.

"Easy…" Aurora babbled. "Where's your friend? I'm looking for mine. Maybe we could just pretend this never happened? Deal?"

Aurora's ridiculous proposal was met with a very loud, very angry growl.

"I guess that's a no." Aurora said backing away from the wolf.

As if it was toying with her, the wolf took a step forward, stalking Aurora.

"I'm not gonna make this easy for you." Aurora couldn't help but taunt. If she was going to die, she was going to do it like she did everything else, stubbornly and with a whole lot of sass.

With one last glare at the wolf Aurora turned and ran as fast as she could. Crashing through the branches, she could feel her arms collecting scraps and cuts. Trying as hard as she could to push through the pain, Aurora made it to a clearing before she collapsed. The fall she had taken earlier had come back to haunt her and everything was spinning. As she lay there chest heaving, waiting for the wolf to pounce, all she could think about was Lizzie and how she hoped to God she had made it out of this backwoods hell hole they call the Mountain View woods. Her thoughts were cut short, however, by the sound of the wolf crashing through the clearing. Aurora didn't dare look at it, she was determined to stay strong till the end, and there was no way she could do that if she faced her attacker. She felt the wolf circling her, almost as if it was enjoying its victory.

"Do it already! Didn't anyone tell you not to play with your food?" Aurora spat.

If Aurora didn't know any better, she could have sworn that her taunt got a rise out of the wolf because as soon as the words left her mouth it snarled.

'This is it.' Aurora thought. She braced herself and prepared for the worst, but nothing happened.

Instead of being mauled by a gigantic wolf with an attitude issue, Aurora heard a loud whimper. She looked up just in time to see the wolf that had been stalking her being chased off by a larger black wolf.

'How could this one be bigger? Are these wolves on fucking steroids?' She thought.

That thought was quickly purged from her mind when the big black wolf was standing face to face with her. The only thing she was thinking then was 'I'm so fucked.'

"Hey…easy…I'm not gonna hurt you." She cooed, slowly pushing herself up from her stomach to her knees. At this new angle the wolf and she were at eye level.

'Eyes.'

The wolf's eyes were blood red.

"Thank you for saving me." She said cautiously.

The wolf just stared at her.

"Are you ok?" Aurora asked noticing that the wolf had a small bite on its front left leg. "Did that golden eyed one do this to you?" Rage washed over her.

When she got out of these woods she was going to come right back, with a shot gun and find golden eyes. She wasn't going to let anybody get away with hurting her wolf.

'Her wolf?' Aurora thought. 'Where the hell did that come from?'

As if on cue the black wolf let out a little whimper. Aurora very slowly held out her right hand, careful to not make any sudden movements. It took a few minutes but eventually the black wolf let her pet him.

"See, I told you I won't hurt you." Aurora soothed scratching between the wolf's ears.

The wolf responded with a cold wet lick to Aurora's face.

"Ew, wolf slobber!" Aurora joked petting the wolf some more.

"Aurora!"

It was Elizabeth, she was close. Aurora whipped around to figure out where her voice was coming from.

"Lizzie! I'm over here!" Aurora called.

Soon she heard loud footsteps coming toward her, followed shortly by her best friend crashing into her with a massive bear hug.

"I thought you were dead. Oh my God I've never been so scared in my life." Elizabeth cried holding on to Aurora for dear life.

"I'm okay Lizzie. Are you? I was so worried." Aurora said breaking their hug so she could examine her best friend for injuries.

"I'm completely fine." Elizabeth reassured her. "What are you doing in this clearing all out in the open like this?! Are you trying to get eaten by a wild animal? Cause you could have just said so."

"I'm not alone, Silky is here." Aurora said motioning toward the place she last saw the black wolf.

"Silky?" Elizabeth questioned looking at her best friend like she had lost her mind.

"Yeah, he's my wolf." Aurora said nonchalantly.

Aurora had decided to name the black wolf 'Silky' because he was jet black and his hair looked glossy, almost like silk.

"Um, your imaginary wolf?" Elizabeth asked still not quite comprehending what Aurora was saying.

"Where did he go?" Aurora said looking around for the wolf. She couldn't help but feel hurt when she realized he had run off.

"You have a cut on your head. Is that why you are seeing phantom wolves? Did you fall?" Elizabeth cooed as if she was trying to settle a scared child.

"Shut up, Lizzie. There was a wolf. He saved me." Aurora said extremely annoyed.

"Elizabeth! Aurora! Can you hear us?!" a familiar voice called in the distance.

Elizabeth and Aurora looked at each other in unison and grinned wide.

"It's about time someone called the sheriff!" Aurora said with delight.

"Dad! We are over here!" Elizabeth called toward the voice.

Soon they both saw the glow of flashlights rushing toward them and two men came into the clearing. In an instant both girls were in the arms of a tall, lean, strong man. It was Elizabeth's dad, Ryan Walker, sheriff of Maricopa County, Georgia.


	2. Chapter 2

_(Author's note: Hey everybody! Here is chapter 2! I hope you all find this story interesting. Oh, and just to let you know, I promise Derek will appear in the story soon! Don't stop reading, please! Next chapter is Derek central. Lol Let me know what you guys think so far. I love to hear your guys' opinions! Hope you enjoy! _

***12 p.m. Sunday afternoon***

"Are you still thinking about your imaginary wolf?" Elizabeth asked Aurora looking exasperated.

It had been two days since their unfortunate incident in the woods but Aurora couldn't get the memory out of her head. Speaking of her head, she also couldn't get rid of the awful headache caused by the horrific face plant she did while trying to keep up with Elizabeth in the woods.

"I just can't help but wonder why he saved me. I mean, he's a wild animal! Shouldn't he have been more skittish? He let me pet him Lizzie." Aurora mused at her best friend.

Elizabeth turned to face Aurora, resting her weight on her right elbow. They were lying on Aurora's bed watching a movie, trying to enjoy their last day of winter vacation.

"I don't know A…Maybe you were hallucinating? I mean you did suffer a pretty nasty concussion. You are still having side effects and you know it!" Elizabeth said quickly before Aurora had a chance to argue.

"Okay, fine. I know I pretty much pulled a Wyle Coyote because it definitely feels like an anvil was dropped on my head but I really don't think I made Silky up." Aurora protested.

With that Elizabeth couldn't help but let out a cackle.

"What?!" Aurora asked narrowing her eyes.

"I just can't believe that not only could you possibly have imagined this wolf but you also found it necessary to take away his dignity by naming him Silky." Elizabeth laughed.

"I'm not taking away his dignity! Silky is a cute name!" Aurora yelled as she simultaneously hit Elizabeth with a pillow.

"HA! That's my point A. He's a big bad wolf, not your pet Chihuahua!" Elizabeth said giggling.

"Whatever. He's name is Silky and that's final. Damn it." Aurora retorted picking up the remote to push play on the movie they had paused.

"Yes princess." Elizabeth taunted.

"Shut up. I'd like to get back to watching Jeremy Renner shoot arms and be sexy…and fantasizes about licking his arms…" Aurora pouted.

"I guess that's better than fantasizes about emasculating an imaginary wolf." Elizabeth joked right before she received a pillow to the face courtesy of her best friend.

***4 p.m. Sunday afternoon***

It had been an hour since Elizabeth had gone home and already Aurora was bored. She took some Advil to try to stop the aching in her head and wondered what she could do to kill the time. She didn't even want to think about the fact that she had to go back to school tomorrow or the teasing that would probably ensue once Stacy got done telling everyone about how she and Elizabeth had managed to get lost in the woods.

'Stupid bitch.' Aurora thought.

Making her way to the kitchen, Aurora found a note on the counter addressed to her:

_Aurora,_

_Your father and I have a business dinner to attend. We will probably be home a little late because it's across town. I didn't want to disturb you and Elizabeth while watching your movie or I would have told you in person. Anyway, make sure your brother has something to eat and you both need to be in bed at a decent hour. See you later._

_Love,_

_Mom_

'Awesome.' Aurora thought.

"Hey, brat! Get down here." Aurora shouted from the kitchen to her brother.

A few seconds later Aurora heard him making his way down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"You called?" asked her little brother with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"What do you want for dinner buttmuch?" Aurora asked crossing her arms over her chest pretending to be agitated.

"I'm going to Ben's for dinner tonight." Her brother said with a sly smile.

"Oh yeah? Did you ask mom and dad if you could do that?" Aurora asked knowing all too well the answer.

"Not…exactly…but since you are holding what looks to be like a note from one of our very busy parents, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say they won't be home to make that decision will they?" Her brother asked with a wide grin.

"Nathaniel, I swear-" Aurora began but she was cut off by a bone crushing hug from her brother.

"Please Aurora! It's Ben! I've known him my whole life. He lives across the street not in Russia. Plus, it's a school night so Mrs. and Mr. Carter won't let me stay late. I'm be home by…9?" Nathaniel pleaded.

"Oh fine. Just get off me!" Aurora agreed wiggling free of her brother's death grip.

"YES! Thanks Sis!" Nathaniel cheered. "I'm gonna head over there now, Ben and I want to play HALO before we eat."

"Be good, munchkin. If you need anything just call me." Aurora said ruffling her baby brother's hair affectionately.

"Will do! Love you Sis!" Nathaniel called back as he ran out the door.

"Love you too baby brother!"

***5:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon***

Aurora wasn't quite sure when she made the decision to go find Silky, all she knew was that she was in her car headed to Mountain View woods.

'This is the worst idea you have every had Aurora Rose.' Was all she could think when she pulled her car up to the camp site she had been at two days prior. When she got out of the car, a sharp gust of wind hit her like a ton of bricks.

'Thank God for multiple layers.' She thought as she opened the door to her back seat to grab the shot-gun she had brought with her. Growing up in the South had its perks and guns were one of them. She had learned to shoot when she was ten and had tons of practice at the range. However, unlike most country girls Aurora was not into hunting. There was just something about killing a defenseless animal that didn't sit right with her. It's not that Aurora had a problem with people who hunted; her dad was a hunter himself. She defiantly got that a lot of people did it for food; it just wasn't her cup of tea. Nevertheless, Aurora brought her shot-gun for one reason and one reason only, to protect herself. If she ran into Golden Eyes or her buddy there would be no running for her life this time. Of course, Aurora didn't want to have to use the gun on the wolves, regardless of her personal feeling; she knew they were just wild animals acting on instinct. Hopefully firing a warning shot would be the only defense Aurora needed.

Heading off into the woods Aurora was extremely careful to remember which way she had come from and this time she brought a compass. Oh, and a flashlight, with extra batteries. No way was she getting lost in these God forsaken woods again, no sir.

It wasn't too long before Aurora had made it to the clearing where she first met Silky. She looked around for some sort of sign that the wolf had been there recently, but she couldn't find any.

"Here boy! Are you out there?" Aurora called and immediately felt ridiculously stupid for doing so.

'He's a wolf not a dog. Why did I even think this was a good idea?' Aurora thought.

Why did she think this was a good idea? This was not even a little bit like her. She was an honor student, ranked number one in her class; she never had adventurous ideas like this. The only thing she could attribute this new found boldness to was Silky. From the minute she saw him the only thing she wanted to do was take care of him.

'It's official. I've lost it.' Aurora concluded in her mind.

With a small internal struggle, she finally decided that she should get the hell out of the woods before the sun went down completely and she was alone in the dark. During the winter the sunset was always earlier and light was fading quickly from the forest.

"Alright, which way did I come from?" Aurora asked herself out loud lifting up her compass.

Her head was starting to feel a little dense, the Advil had no affect at all on the monstrous headache she had. Feeling a little woozy, Aurora started walking in the direction she hoped was the way back to her car.

'Dear God in Heaven. I swear, if I got my dumb ass lost in these woods again, I'm gonna get a psych evaluation if I make it out alive.' Aurora thought chastising herself for the unbelievably dumb decision she had made.

On top of feeling completely stupid for putting herself in danger again she was beginning to believe she might have imagined Silky too. An overwhelming disappointment flooded over her. Becoming even more nauseous from her headache, Aurora decided to rest for a moment on a large rock. She had just closed her eyes to try to make her surroundings stop spinning when she heard something move in the bushes.

"Are you lost?" she heard a man's voice ask.

Aurora nearly jumped out of her skin. In a flash she was on her feet, shot-gun in hand.


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's note: Hey y'all! Hope you are enjoying the story! Just a fair warning there is quite a bit of bad language in this chapter and probably will be throughout the story. Lol Just to let you know. I apologize for any grammar or spelling errors. :) In addition, I'm using ' to signify Aurora's thoughts._

_ENJOY!_

"Whoa! Easy! I didn't mean to startle you!" said the man who had nearly given Aurora a heart attack.

"What the hell are you doing in the middle of the woods all alone?!" Aurora shouted. "And why did you think it was a good idea to sneak up on someone who was unsuspecting?!"

"Why I am all alone in the woods? Says the beautiful teenage girl _**all alone in the woods**_? the stranger questioned raising his thick eyebrows in suspicion.

"Flattery won't get you anywhere buddy." Aurora scolded. "Now, instead of answering my question with another question, why don't you just answer the question?"

The man raised his eyebrows even higher which Aurora honestly didn't think was possible.

"You have a perfect 'what the actual fuck' look." Aurora giggle lowering her weapon. "I'm sorry. I am suffering from a concussion and I'm pretty sure my brain is not functioning properly at the moment."

"Let me get this straight. You are alone in the woods with the sun about to go down and you have a concussion?" the man's 'what the actual fuck' look had turned to one of complete disgust and a hint of disappointment.

"Dude. Calm down _dad_. I'm fine. I was on my way back to my car. Just taking a breather." Aurora said. "Wait, why am I explaining myself to you? Mr. I creep through the woods startling unsuspecting girls."

"I live about three miles from here. I was just on my way home when I heard you rustling around." the man said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Oh yeah. You just decided to take a three mile walk out into the woods so you could walk three miles back in the dark?" Aurora asked her voice dripping with suspicion.

"Actually," the man said taking a step closer to Aurora who immediately told a step back, "I was out for a run. I like to stay physically fit. A three mile run helps with that. Any other accusations? Or does the persecution rest its case?" he finished indignantly.

'Geez.' Aurora thought. 'Someone doesn't like to be challenged.'

"Excuse me Mr. Poster child for devoted exercisers everywhere. Do you blame me for being suspicious?" Aurora asked.

With that the man seemed to relax a little.

"No, it was right on you to question me. Maybe you are smarter than this scenario paints you to be." He said with a toothy grin.

"EXCUSE ME? Listen here Mr. Judgy-McJudger, I happen to be very sma-" Aurora began but her rant was cut short.

"My name is Derek."

The stranger's sudden sense of pleasantries made Aurora freeze mid-sentence.

"What?" she asked extremely annoyed.

"Derek." The man said again pointing to himself. "My name is Derek Hale."

"Aurora." She said crossing her arms.

"That's a beautiful name." Derek said with another smile.

Even in the growing darkness Aurora could see how handsome the man standing before her was. She hadn't taken the time to notice before, what with the being scared out of her mind than insulted, but since they were switching to greetings Aurora might as well soak up the masterpiece that stood before her.

"Are you alright?" Derek asked with a sly smirk cocking his head to the side just a bit.

"What?... Oh. Yeah, fine. It's just I already have a concussion and the whiplash I'm getting from your mood swings is aggravating it." Aurora said recovering from her brief drooling session.

With that, Derek laughed. It was not at all what Aurora expected from a man of Derek's stature. He had hard features; his shoulders were broad and his body was thin but muscular. In fact, it looked as though it was made of pure muscle, every one of them distinctly defined. His arms were massive and even through his long sleeve black shirt, Aurora could tell he had a six-pack. His eyes were a mix of brown and a hint of green and his hair was…His hair was raven black and glossy. Almost like silk...

"Did I lose you again?" Derek asked amusement in his voice.

"Dear Lord. You aren't one for letting a girl think are you?" Aurora said in aggravation, her southern accent more pronounced because she was upset.

"Sorry ma'am." Derek mocked in his best attempt at a Georgia boy accent.

"That was pitiful." Aurora teased. "Where you from city boy?" she asked just now coming to the conclusion that Derek was not from around here.

"California, ma'am." Derek said continuing to talk in his accent.

"California? Well I'd say you're a long way from home son." Aurora said laying on her accent as thick as possible.

"Yes ma'am, I do believe you are correct." Derek replied but he was starting to sound more like Pee Wee Herman rather than a southern boy.

"Stop. Just stop!" Aurora laughed. "It's so terrible. I can't."

"Wow, you have a beautiful smile to go along with that beautiful name." Derek said the green in his eyes shining bright.

"Thank you Captain Cheese ball." Aurora teased but her heart fluttered at the compliment all the same.

Derek took another step forward but this time Aurora stood her ground.

"Is it cheesy if it's true?" Derek asked stepping in front of Aurora. Their bodies were close enough now that Aurora could feel Derek's body heat.

"Jesus. Do you have your own personal heater in there?" Aurora asked poking Derek's chest.

When Aurora's finger made contact with Derek it was like she had sent an electric shock through his body. Aurora watched as the look in his eyes changed from playful to determination. Before Aurora could protest Derek placed his hands on both of her hips and pulled her close.

"I run hotter than most people." He said answering Aurora's question that she had long since forgot about.

"Is that a metaphor?" Aurora asked half-joking as she placed her hands on Derek's chest trying to make a little space between the two. "Do you also not understand personal space like most people?"

"Do you want me to let you go?" Derek asked rubbing circles around Aurora's hip bones.

'NO!' Aurora screamed in her mind.

"I-…Do I know you from somewhere?" Aurora asked after a short pause.

Derek just looked at her. It was a familiar look. Way too familiar.

"You have amazing hair." Aurora managed to blurt out.

Derek's response was a snort.

"Thank you?" he said raising his eyebrows again.

"It looks really healthy." Aurora babbled lowering her head to hide how red she had gone.

Derek removed his left hand from Aurora's hip and cupped it under her chin, forcing her to look traight into his eyes.

"Is this new found fascination with my hair an attempt to avoid answering my question?" he asked running his thumb lightly across Aurora's skin.

"What question?" she asked sounding way more flustered than she wanted to admit.

"Do you want me to let you go?" Derek asked again.

Before Aurora could answer, there was a loud clap of thunder.

"Holy shit!" Aurora screamed bracing herself against Derek's body looking up at the sky. It was barely visible through the tree but Aurora could see the outline of ominously dark clouds.

"Gah! One thing I hate about the south, freaking thunderstorm can pop up without any warning." Aurora said trying to calm herself.

She didn't realize that she was still in Derek's arms until he started rubbing her back. Aurora assumed it was to comfort her but it was only adding to her sexual frustration.

"I really better get going." Aurora said with a sigh pulling herself out of Derek's embrace.

He looked look a little disappointed but nodded his agreement.

"I'll walk you to your car." Derek stated.

"My hero!" Aurora cried pretending to swoon as she tried to loosen the tension between them.

"Unless you want to walk through the woods by yourself, in the dark, in the middle of a thunderstorm." Derek said folding his arms across his chest.

"Just get me the hell out of these woods Mr. Super Exerciser Creepy Backwoods Dwelling California guy." Aurora pouted holding out her hand for Derek to take.

It was dark to begin with and the storm was not helping Aurora's vision. She was going to need to hold on to Derek so she didn't have a repeat of her last pitch black woods experience.

"Sure you don't just want me to carry you, princess?" Derek mocked taking Aurora's outstretched hand.

"Did you seriously just call me princess?" Aurora asked flabbergasted.

"I really did. Why? Are you trying to tell me it's not a proper title?" Derek asked as they began to walk in the direction that was hopefully toward Aurora's car.

"Oh no. It's extremely accurate. I am a mother fucking princess, and damn proud of it." Aurora said shooting Derek a sideways smirk. "I just don't think it's fair for you to be making such judgie quick assumptions."

Aurora was completely joking of course. She just really wanted to get a rise out of Derek, and boy did that comment work.

"Excuse me?" Derek mocked. "I'm pretty sure you walking that cute little ass into my territory with your painted nails and your designer jeans is enough evidence for me to come to the conclusion that you are without a doubt a spoiled princess."

'Your territory?' Aurora thought. 'Wait a minute. Did he just admit to checking out my ass?!'

"Hold the phone Mr. Brooding Wilderness Man." Aurora said stopping in her tracks.

She still had a hold of Derek's hand and she tugged his arm so that he was facing her. Well she didn't so much make him turn as he turned for her. Aurora knew the only way she would ever be able to force Derek to do anything would be with a baseball bat. Cause let's face it, dude was built.

"How do you know my jeans are designer?" Aurora laughed raising an eyebrow to mimic Derek.

"You just told me princess." Derek shot back with one of his dazzling smiles. Or at least that's what Aurora pictured he did because she could barely see his face at this point.

"Hey buddy. Let's not forget, not only am I a princess but I'm the one with the gun." Aurora joked as they continued to walk.

"I'm pretty sure I could take you." Derek said only half-joking.

'Oh my God. You could definitely take me. I would not complain.' Aurora thought with a small laugh.

"What's so funny?" Derek asked.

'How the hell did he hear that?' Aurora asked herself silently.

"Oh you know. Most girls who meet a stranger in the woods don't usually hold their hand and led them back to their cars. I'm beginning to understand why you questioned my intelligence." Aurora said before nearly tripping over what she assumed was a tree branch.

Derek grabbed ahold of her to steady her balance.

"They also don't usually stand idly by while said stranger invades their personal space every chance he gets." She added as she felt Derek's arms snake around her waist.

"No, they usually don't." he agreed burying his face into the crock of her neck.

As if out of instinct Aurora let her hand travel from her side to Derek's hair.

"You weren't joking about liking my hair." Derek purred leaning into Aurora's touch.

'Why does this seem so familiar?'

"What can I say? It's prettier than mine. And that's coming from a princess." Aurora teased stroking Derek's hair.

Aurora lost track of how long they stood there but another large clap of thunder jarred her back to reality.

"We need to get going. Your car is just up ahead." Derek said pulling his body away from Aurora.

"How do you know that?" Aurora asked but Derek didn't respond.

Instead he led Aurora around a small tree and through a couple of brush patches to the camp site where her car was parked.

"Oh thank God!" Aurora shouted in relief.

"You can call me Derek."

"Shut up Grizzly Adams. And thank you too." Aurora said unlocking her car and stowing her shot-gun safety in the backseat.

"Nice Prius, princess." Derek chuckled.

"You suck. They are very safe and fuel-efficient!" Aurora grumbled.

"What were you doing out here anyway?" Derek inquired as Aurora felt a drop of rain hit her face.

"Oh you know. What every other teenage girl does when she goes skipping through the woods by herself." Aurora said deliberately trying to stall.

Derek's eyebrows immediately shot up.

"Oh fine. I was looking for my wolf, Silky." Aurora spit out as fast as she could.

"_Your_ wolf? _SILKY_?" Derek choked out like the words were straggling him.

"Yeah, he's jet black and glossy. So I named him Silky." Aurora said defensively.

Derek stood stalk still for what seemed like forever before he finally spoke.

"Didn't you say he? Why would you name a male wolf Silky?" he asked as if he was personally offended.

"OH MY GOD! Not you too. He looks silky therefore his name is Silky. End of discussion." Aurora said throwing her hands in the arm.

"Okay, better question. Why do you have a wolf? They are extremely dangerous. You shouldn't be out in the woods looking for one let alone claim one as your own." Derek very seriously.

"Silky would never hurt me. He saved my life. We are kindred spirits." Aurora told Derek defiantly. He barely knew her and she was not about to let him think he could tell her what to do.

"Well what about other wolves?" Derek fished.

Aurora looked at him incredulously. He knew she wasn't going to listen to him, so why was he bothering?

"Silky will defend me. He would never let anything happen to me." Aurora said wholeheartedly.

"And you know all this after one encounter with him?" Derek asked and if Aurora didn't know any better she could have sworn there was a hint of a smile on his face.

"Yes. I do. It's like..It's like he knew me." Aurora confessed. "I haven't been able to get the thought of him out of my head. It's almost like I'm-"

"Bonded to him?" Derek said stepping in front of Aurora so that her body was pinned between him and the driver's side door of her car.

"Ye-yeah. Something like that." She stammered trying to gather her thoughts which was extremely hard to do when Derek got in her personal space like this. "I know it sounds crazy but-"

Derek raised his hands defensively. "I'm not judging."

"Ha! Oh really? Cause this would be the first time since I met you that you don't have a judgie thought to share with me." Aurora spat.

Derek just shrugged his shoulders.

"Of all the things I would have accepted you judging me for, the wolf thing was not one of them." Aurora admitted.

"Now you have something to judge me for." He said with another shrug of his shoulders. "Hopefully you two will meet again." Derek said and he seemed completely serious.

"Thank you. I hope so too." Aurora said thoughtfully.

Without any warning Derek leaned forward and kissed Aurora on the cheek.

"Drive safe Aurora. I hope Silky isn't the only one who gets to see you again." Derek said with a smile.

"Yeah, me too Mountain Man." Aurora called after him as he disappeared into the woods.


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's note: Hey everybody! Hope you guys are enjoying the story! :) Oh, and thank you so much to Lycan Lover 411! I love reading your reviews! I really appreciate the feedback! :D_

**_**** _**signify time passing

ENJOY!

When Aurora got back to her house it was 7 p.m. Thankfully, no one was home. She did not want to have to explain where she had been for the last couple of hours. It was not like she could have lied about her whereabouts, considering the mud she had tracked in on her shoes.

'Shower time.' Aurora thought.

When she got out of the shower Aurora put on her pajamas and headed to the living room. Plopping down on the couch, she looked at the clock on the wall, it read 8 p.m. She decided to text her brother to check on him.

**To: N-Dog**

**From: A-Bomb**

_Having fun, brat?_

**To: A-Bomb**

**From: N-Dog**

_Yeah. Kicking some major boo-tay at HALO._

** To: N-Dog**

**From: A-Bomb**

_Did you have a good dinner, lame face?_

**To: A-Bomb**

**From: N-Dog**

_Yes ma'am. ;) I'll be home in an hour. Love you!_

**To: N-Dog**

**From: A-Bomb**

_Love you too baby brother!_

Aurora couldn't help but smile. He might be her annoying little brother but he was pretty awesome.

'Speaking of awesome.' Aurora thought, 'I have to call Lizzie.'

Aurora pushed speed dial one on her phone and it wasn't long before she heard her best friend's voice greeting her.

"Hello my gorgeous bestie. How are you this lovely evening?" Elizabeth asked in a cheery voice.

"I'm very well my stunning BFF. How are you?" Aurora asked returning Elizabeth's enthusiasm.

"Peachy keen jelly bean. What's up A?"

"Nothing much…I was just calling to tell you about my crazy adventure." Aurora said baiting her best friend.

"Oh yeah? Did it involve a date with Ben and Jerry while you drooled over Mr. Depp?" Elizabeth joked.

"Actually, it involved pitch black woods and a really sexy guy." Aurora said.

She barely got the words out of her mouth when she heard a high pitch shriek from her friend.

"WHAT? Aurora, are you crazy? You went back into the woods? By your fucking self?!" Elizabeth seethed over the receiver.

"Whoa there tiger! It's all good. I'm alive and kicking. Are you really not gonna asked about the sexy guy?" Aurora asked trying to calm Elizabeth down.

"Gah! Tell me about the sexy guy, you freaking idiot." Elizabeth said a little more relaxed.

Aurora launched into the story of how she went looking for Silky and ended up meeting Derek. She was sure to explain every little detail about how unbelievable attractive Derek was.

"How old is he?" Elizabeth asked skeptically.

"Gee mom, I don't know. I couple years older than us?" Aurora said hoping Elizabeth noted the sarcasm in her voice.

"You think he's eighteen?! Aurora Rose. You are freaking sixteen. That's illegal!" Elizabeth scolded.

"Holy crap! It's not that bad. Plus, I didn't say I wanted to marry the guy, I just said he was good-looking." Aurora said defeated, her bubble was totally burst.

"Your dad is a judge and your mother is a lawyer. It's a little bit of a big deal." Elizabeth sighed in disapproval.

"You suck. You know that? All I wanted to do was tell my best friend about my frolic with a hot stranger in the woods that didn't end in homicide and you have to go and be a buzz kill." Aurora whined.

"Oh shut up. I'm glad you had a good time risking your life while hanging out with a non-murderous stranger in the woods. Sounds like way more fun than our first near death encounter." Elizabeth said bitterly.

"Lizzie. Are you jealous that I got lost in the woods with someone other than you?" Aurora teased.

"You are such a loser. Are you gonna see stranger danger again?" Elizabeth asked.

"Oh no. You are not calling him stranger danger! And I don't know. I really want too." Aurora said trying to hold in her excitement at the thought of seeing Derek again.

"You got it bad girl. I can hear your goofy ass grin from here." Elizabeth teased relishing in the fact that her best friend was acting like she had a terrible case of puppy love.

"I do not!" Aurora lied.

"You don't what?" Nathaniel asked walking through the front door.

"None of your business brat." Aurora joked glancing up at the clock which now read 9 p.m. "Thanks for being home on time. You are a good kid."

Aurora's comment was met with her brother leaping on to the couch, laying his body across hers.

"Is that Elizabeth?" he pestered trying to take the phone from his sister.

"Yes. Now go to bed!" Aurora said swatting at Nathaniel's hand.

"Liz! I love you! My proposal of marriage is still on the table if you ever change your mind." Nathaniel yelled into the receiver.

"Ha! Maybe when you are older, darlin'." Elizabeth yelled back so that Nathaniel could hear her.

"That's not a no. Am I right?" Nathaniel boosted raising his eyebrows at his sister.

"I've got to go Lizzie. It's time for me to put my whittle bru-der to sleepy time." Aurora joked pinching Nathaniel's cheek.

"Ow!" he said jumping up from the couch. "I'm going to take a shower. Tell Liz whenever she's ready for me to put a ring on it, she knows where to find me."

"You hear that Lizzie?" Aurora asked trying not to laugh.

"Unfortunately." Elizabeth said giggling. "I'll see you tomorrow A. Good night! Love you!"

"Night Lizzie! Love you too!"

***7 a.m. Monday morning***

"Aurora, baby! It's time to get up!"

Aurora rolled over in her bed, wishing winter vacation wasn't over.

"Coming momma!" Aurora shouted back trying to shake herself out of her foggy state. A loud boom of thunder was enough to wake her up completely.

'Jesus! Enough with the sudden loud noises. My heart is seriously going to fall out of my chest if this shit doesn't stop.' Aurora thought as she got up to look out the window. The clouds were dark and a light rain was starting to fall.

In about ten minutes Aurora was dressed and headed downstairs to grab breakfast. Nathaniel was already half way done with two pancakes, and their mom was fixing him two more.

"Garbage gut!" Aurora joked ruffling Nathaniel's hair.

"How many pancakes would you like, sweetie? Mrs. Montgomery asked her daughter.

"Just two momma." Aurora answered with a smile. "Did you and daddy have a good dinner?"

"We did! Your father's colleagues are a riot." Mrs. Montgomery told her daughter with a smile revealing her prominent dimples.

"That's great momma!" Aurora said taking a bite of her pancakes.

***8 a.m. Monday morning***

"Ugh! I am so tired. Who's bright idea was it to make us come to school at the butt crack of dawn?!" Elizabeth complained as she took her seat next to Aurora in homeroom.

"Right? Fucking bastards." Aurora agreed resting her head on her desk.

The morning dragged on relentlessly until Aurora finally heard the bell ring for lunch.

"I don't think I'm gonna make it!" Elizabeth cried as Aurora joined her at their usual table in the cafeteria.

"Spear me the dramatics Scarlet O'Harra. We are almost done." Aurora joked taking a bite of her nachos.

"Hi Aurora."

Looking up Aurora couldn't help but frown at the boy standing in front of the table.

"Dylan." Aurora said sourly.

"Can I talk to you for a minute." Dylan asked shifting his weight for one foot to another.

"Uh, how about I answer that question for you? Hell no." Elizabeth said giving Dylan the most disgusted glare she could manage. "I don't think my best friend is in the mood to talk to her cheating ex."

"Aurora, please? It will only take a second." Dylan asked being sure to avoid Elizabeth's death glare.

"Fine. Make it fast." Aurora spat getting up from her seat.

Dylan led her over to an empty table making sure he was out of Elizabeth's ear shot.

"I hate to ask Aurora but are we still lab partners?" Dylan asked in a low voice.

'You have got to be kidding me.' Aurora thought in outrage.

"You dragged me away from lunch with my best friend to ask me if I am still your fucking lab partner?!" Aurora shouted causing a few heads to turn. "Not 'I'm sorry Aurora? You know for cheating on you. It's only been two weeks since we broke up but I just wanted to know how you are doing? Did I mention what a piece of shit I am for cheating on you with one of your friends who is probably only with me because I'm captain of the football team and she really wants to be a cheerleader. You know, the girl who is now best friends with Stacy fucking Smith captain of the cheerleading squad!' You couldn't have started with that?"

"Aurora, you know I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." Dylan began but Aurora wasn't having any part of it.

As she went to walk away Dylan grabbed her left arm at the wrist.

"Aurora, just listen to me-" Dylan started to say but was cut off.

"Dylan. You have two seconds to let me go, or I will punch you teeth down your throat." Aurora threatened.

Dylan immediately let her go.

"I will be you fucking lab partner Dylan. But only because I agreed to at the beginning of the semester and Mr. Michael doesn't like it when we which partners half way through the year. However, if you put your hands on me again or even try to act like we are friends I will let you ass fail sophomore year without blinking an eye. Understood?"

Dylan nodded his agreement. He gave Aurora one last apologetic look before heading over to the lunch table where the rest of the football team had gathered.

"What the hell was that about?" Elizabeth inquired as Aurora sat back down at their table.

"That mother fucker actually had the nerve to ask me if I was still going to be his lab partner." Aurora said in disgust.

"You have GOT to be kidding me. I'm gonna shank him." Elizabeth said grabbing one of the plastic utensils they were given with their meals.

"Easy killer. He's not worth getting blood on you spork." Aurora laughed.

"You're right. Sporks. They are so cool. It's a combination of a spoon and a fork! Best invention ever." Elizabeth said.

"You know, sometimes I can't tell when you are kidding." Aurora said eyeing her best friend.

Elizabeth gave her an award-winning smile.

"No, Lizzie. I need to know when you are kidding."

Just then the bell for sixth period rang.

"See you seventh period!" Elizabeth beamed picking up her tray.

"See ya, ya weirdo." Aurora called after her.

***2:30 p.m. Monday afternoon***

When school finally ended Aurora had to fight the urge to do a victory dance. After saying goodbye to Elizabeth, Aurora got in her car and called her mom.

**Mrs. Montgomery:** _Hey baby, how was your day?_

**Aurora:** _Blah. My brain is still on winter vacation. How is your day going so far?_

**Mrs. Montgomery:** _Pretty good, just extremely busy._

**Aurora:** _You work-a-holic!_

**Mrs. Montgomery:** _That's me! Are you on your way home?_

**Aurora:** _Actually, I was wondering if it was alright if I went to the library? I want to do a little bit of reading and they have a Starbucks._

**Mrs. Montgomery:** _Of course! What time do you think you will be home?_

**Aurora:** _No later than 5?_

**Mrs. Montgomery:** _Okay sweetheart. Have fun! I'll see you later._

**Aurora:** _Thanks momma! I love you._

**Mrs. Montgomery**: _Love you too darling._

When Aurora hung up the phone she let out a loud sigh.

'It's not lying Aurora. You are going to the library. You just didn't mention you were stopping by the woods first.' She thought, trying to make herself feel less guilty.

With the all-around crap-tastic day she was having, Aurora just wanted to swing by the woods to see if she could find Silky. That's why she was completely thrilled when she pulled up to the camp site and she saw him sitting at the edge of the forest.

"Silky!" Aurora shouted as she got out of her car.

The wolf gave her a confused sideways glance.

"It's okay buddy. It's just me." She said walking up to the wolf slowly. Crouching down, Aurora held out her left hand.

The wolf growled, its bright red eyes staring intently at her outstretched arm.

"What's wrong buddy? You know me." Aurora said trying to calm the wolf.

Suddenly a strange thought popped into her mind.

"Do you smell Dylan?" Aurora asked.

Aurora's question was met with another growl.

"Yeah, I don't like him either." Aurora said switching arms. "Here buddy. Come here."

This time, the wolf obeyed.

"That's better." Aurora coaxed. "Were you waiting for me?" she asked with a smile as she pet the top of the wolf's head.

The wolf responded by nudging his nose against Aurora's shoulder.

"I've missed you Silky." Aurora said scratching between the wolf's ears because she remembered he liked that.

At the mention of his name the wolf cocked his head to the side.

"Don't you even dare." Aurora warned. "Your name is Silky."

The wolf let out an exasperated huff and leaned further into Aurora's touch.

"Good boy." Aurora cooed.

Silky responded by licking her face.

"Aw, you are so adorable." Aurora said wrapping her arms around the wolf. In the daylight Aurora noticed that the wolf was bigger than she originally thought, which was unbelievable.

"Dude. You must eat your Wheaties." Aurora joked. "I got a question for you though. Why are you so tame? Don't get me wrong, I love that you aren't afraid of me but you seem way to calm to be wild."

The wolf responded with a lick to Aurora's nose .

"Affection will not distract me Mr." Aurora said petting Silky once more. "So what is this? Am I the Little Red Riding Hood to your Big Bad Wolf?"

Silky made a choking noise.

"Apart from you trying to eat me of course. I'm totally not down with that." Aurora teased. "You aren't gonna eat me, right?'

Silky playfully nipped at Aurora's hand and then licked it.

"Oh, I've got a sassy wolf on my hands." Aurora said placing a kiss on Silky's forehead.

Just then the wind picked up and there was a ground shaking boom.

"Oh my God!" Aurora screamed nuzzling close to the wolf. "I give up! This storm is going to kill me."

Silky whimpered.

"Not literally buddy." Aurora reassured him. "I better get going before it's raining so hard that I can't see my hand in front of my face."

The rain had started to come down soon after the thunder scared Aurora half to death and it was only getting harder.

"I'm so glad I got to see you Silky." Aurora said giving the wolf one last squeeze.

In response Silky buried his head in the crock of Aurora's neck.

"I'll try to stop by tomorrow. Try to stay dry buddy." Aurora said getting up and heading back to her car.

When she shut the door there was another huge boom of thunder and it started to down poor. Aurora took a quick look in her rear view mirror to see Silky watching her drive away.


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's note: Hey hey! Hope y'all are still enjoying the story! :) _

_******** signifies time passing._

_ENJOY!_

The rest of the week flew by in a blur. Aurora was so bogged down with homework that she wasn't able to make it back to the woods to see Silky. Apparently her teacher thought coming back from winter break equaled trying to kill their students. By Friday, Aurora felt exhausted. Elizabeth had asked her for a ride home that day after school and they both spent half the car ride in silence.

"Dear Lord. You would think that we are sixty not sixteen." Elizabeth joked.

"Right? #Honor student problems." Aurora joked back.

"That's not all that is wrong with you though." Elizabeth said turning in her seat to look at Aurora.

"What you talkin' bout?" Aurora deflected.

"Don't even try to act like nothing's wrong. I've known you since kindergarten. I can tell when you are upset." Elizabeth said.

"I went to see Silky on Monday." Aurora shot out.

"Of course you did." Elizabeth said in judgment.

"Shut up. I told him I would try to come back on Tuesday but I didn't make it. Now it's Friday and I'm afraid he might be mad at me." Aurora said in a low tone.

"Aurora. He's a wolf, not your boyfriend." Elizabeth said with a laugh.

"Get out of my car ya jerk." Aurora shot back as she pulled up in front of Elizabeth's house.

"Thanks for the ride, you wolf obsessed crazy person." Elizabeth giggled as she got out of the car. "Love you A."

"Love you too Lizzie." Aurora said with a small wave at her best friend as she shut the passenger's side door.

Aurora waited until Elizabeth was safely inside her house before pulling away from the curb.

When she got home, Aurora was nearly knocked over by her brother as he was exiting the front door when she was trying to enter.

"Hi Sis, bye Sis!" Nathaniel said as he walked past her carrying a large overnight bag.

"Where do you think you are going?" Aurora asked.

"To Ben's. Remember? Mom and dad left for their business trip today. They won't be back till Monday night. Ringing any bells?" Nathaniel asked sarcastically when he saw the confused look on his sister's face.

"Oh! That's right! How could I have forgotten about that?" Aurora said to herself.

"Cause you have been Captain McSpace Pants since Monday." Nathaniel joked.

"Shut up peasant. Now, go bother someone other than me." Aurora said waving her brother away.

"See you later Sis." Nathaniel said walking down the front porch steps.

"Be safe! When will you be back?" Aurora called after him.

"Sunday night!" Nathaniel called back.

"Call me if you need anything. Love you, brat!"

"Love you too Sis!"

After her brother left, Aurora tried to get some homework done. She didn't have much, a present from her teachers who had tried to kill her with homework during the school week. Aurora got halfway through the first paragraph of her English reading assignment when she decided she couldn't take it anymore.

'I've got to go check on Silky.' She thought.

Before she left, Aurora decided to change her clothes. Partly because she didn't want to wear her school clothes in the woods, but mostly because she held out a slight hope that she would run into Derek. She quickly changed into a tight black long sleeve shirt that was cut lower than most of her others and slipped on her favorite pair of jeans. She was so glad they were True Religion™ and now she hoped more than ever she would run into Derek, just to aggravate him. Making Derek's blood pressure rise shouldn't be something that brought Aurora so much joy, but she couldn't help it. She grabbed a heavy jacket on her way out the door because it was still rainy and headed to her car.

When Aurora pulled up to the camp site there was no sign of Silky. Her heart sank a little.

'I'm not giving up just yet.' She thought putting her car in park.

When Aurora opened the door a chill ran down her spine. The wind was whipping around and a streak of lightning ran across the sky. Heading toward the woods, Aurora wrapped her jacket tightly around her body. It was only 3:30 p.m. so she didn't have to worry about it getting dark anytime soon but the black clouds in the sky cast a shadow over the trees which gave Aurora an eerie feeling. After a few minutes of looking around for Silky, she decided to go a little deeper into the woods. Aurora walked along a path that seemed somewhat familiar until she found her way back to the clearing she was all too well acquainted with.

"Silky?!" Aurora shouted into the silence of the woods.

"Are you going to make it a habit of getting lost in the woods in hopes that some kind, selfless stranger will come along and save that sexy little ass of your?"

Aurora nearly jumped twenty feet in the air.

"Are you going to make it a habit of sneaking up on me in your creepy backwoods fashion so you can give me a heart attack for the hundredth time?" Aurora asked clenching her hand over her heart as she turned around to see Derek standing a couple of feet away from her, smiling from ear to ear.

"I see your fixation with my ass hasn't dulled either." Aurora added making Derek chuckle.

He closed the gap between them quickly until he was right in front of Aurora, his hands automatically grabbing onto her hips. Following his lead, Aurora took the hand that was once over her heart and ran it through Derek's hair.

"And I see your fixation with my hair hasn't dulled." He mocked nuzzling against Aurora's touch.

"Let me guess? You are out here making all the exercising fanatics of the world proud by running some insane amount of miles while maintaining your back to nature creepy reputation?" Aurora asked with a giggle.

"Maybe I was out here because I was hoping to run into a pretty girl with no sense of self-preservation and a whole lot of attitude." Derek said pulling Aurora closer so that his face was inches from hers.

Aurora could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Derek had a way of making her go all flustered just by looking at her.

"What are_ you_ doing out here again? Looking for me?" Derek asked with a cocky smile.

"I think all that exercising has cut off the oxygen to your brain." Aurora said placing her hands on Derek's chest to push herself back. "I'm looking for Silky."

Derek loosened his grip on Aurora's hips but didn't let go.

"Do you usually dress like that for a wolf?" Derek asked running his eyes up and down Aurora's body.

"Maybe I do, pervert." Aurora teased noticing her jacket, that she hadn't zipped, had opened slightly to reveal her low-cut shirt. She gave Derek a playful slap when she saw his eyes gravitate toward her chest.

"Well I've been out here all day and I haven't seen any docile wild animals lurking about waiting to be tamed by beautiful girls with death wishes." Derek said shrugging his shoulders and letting go of Aurora.

"Oh, now you've got jokes?" Aurora mocked. "It's okay, I figured he was probably off doing his wolfy thing."

Derek cocked his head to the side curiously.

"Silky does the same thing." Aurora told him. "You both look at me like I'm speaking in Ancient Greek sometimes."

Derek froze.

"What? You okay?" Aurora asked taking a step toward Derek putting a hand on his face.

"I'm fine." Derek blinked. "Just didn't know if I should take it as a compliment or an insult that you compared me to a wolf." He said recovering from his faulted.

"If I'm comparing you to Silky, it's always a compliment." Aurora said beaming up at Derek. He was probably about six-foot which compared to her five foot six made it look like he towered over her. "Do you want to go to dinner with me?" Aurora asked in a hurry so she wouldn't lose her nerve.

Derek looked like that cat that got the canary.

"On one condition." Derek said with a sly smirk.

"What's that Davy Crockett?" Aurora asked narrowing her eyes.

"I get to pick the restaurant." He said.

"Fine." Aurora agreed sticking her tongue out at Derek.

"And I get to drive." He added.

"Slow your roll Mr. Control Freak Forest Dweller. You said one condition!" Aurora pouted.

"I changed my mind princess." Derek smirked.

"Fine!" Aurora said with a glare.

"Did you park your car in the same place as before?" Derek asked.

"Yes, I'm a creature of habit." Aurora said.

"You think you can find your way back without getting lost? I need to take a quick shower and I will meet you at the camp site." He said.

"I can make it back. Ye have little faith." Aurora said. "You aren't one of those guys that takes forever to get ready are you? Cause I said I wanted to go to dinner not breakfast." Aurora teased. "And let's face it, we both know that gorgeous hair gets blow dried."

"I do not blow dry my hair." Derek barked walking away. "I'll be about twenty minutes."

"We'll see." Aurora called over her shoulder as she made her way back to her car.

Derek wasn't kidding when he said it wouldn't take him long to get ready. Aurora had only been sitting in her car about ten minutes when Derek pulled up to the camp site.

"You are a ninja." Aurora praised as she got in to the passenger's seat. "And you drive a Camaro." She added admiring her surroundings. "Damn, and you smell amazing."

Derek's hair was still damp from his shower and the smell of his freshly sprayed cologne filled the small space of the car.

"Better watch it princess, it's starting to sound like you are being nice to me." Derek teased as he pulled out of the camp site and onto the nearby street.

"Don't get used to it, Super Cardio Nymph." Aurora taunted as she put on her seat belt.

Derek tried his best not to laugh.

"So, where are we going?" Aurora asked.

"It's a surprise." Derek stated simply.

"Okay. Well…How old are you?" Aurora asked trying to make conversation.

"Eighteen." Derek said.

"I knew it! Damn I'm good." Aurora said extremely pleased with herself.

"You had a debate on my age? You've been talking about me?" Derek mused.

"No. I just assumed you were a couple of years older than me. No debate. Just me, thinking…To myself." Aurora lied.

"I see, and what other thoughts about me did you think…To yourself." Derek asked in a slick tone.

Aurora felt as if she could light a match off her face.

"Moving on. When did you turn eighteen?" Aurora asked bashfully.

"October. My birthday was on the ninth." Derek laughed.

"Oh, so you just turned eighteen a couple months ago." Aurora stated thoughtfully.

"What about you? When is your birthday?" Derek asked politely.

"February twenty-first. I'll be seventeen." Aurora said proudly.

Derek smiled.

"How long have you lived in Georgia?"

She heard Derek chuckle before he asked "What is this? 21 questions?"

"Indeed it is my wilderness loving friend. Now spill." Aurora urged.

"I moved here two years ago. You?" Derek inquired cordially.

"Born and raised." Aurora said. "And do you have an eco-friendly tree house or?"

"I live in a normal house, _Aurora_. It's my family's estate." Derek said in an annoyed tone as he took a left.

"Ooo an estate. Fancy." Aurora joked.

"My family owns most of the land in the woods starting at that clearing where we first met." Derek said. "Actually, I could have you arrested for trespassing on private property."

Aurora shot Derek a 'yeah right sure' look.

"Why are we crossing the county line?" Aurora asked noticing the 'Welcome to Glendale County" sign they just passed.

"The restaurant I want to take you to is about a mile from here." Derek said.

Aurora raised her eyebrows.

"I work in Glendale. I'm taking you to my favorite restaurant over here." Derek explained.

"What do you do?" Aurora asked.

"I'm a mechanic." Derek told her.

"And here I thought you were a lumberjack." Aurora taunted as Derek pulled into the parking lot of a little Mom and Pop restaurant called Mrs. White's Golden Rule Cafe.

Derek gave her a dirty look before turning off the car.

"This is not what I was expecting." Aurora said getting out of the car.

"Really? What were you expecting?" Derek asked taking Aurora's hand.

"You name it, I thought it. Except for a down home southern restaurant." Aurora said.

When they got to the entrance of the restaurant Derek opened the door for her and motioned for her to go ahead.

"Aw, you're such a gentleman." Aurora teased. "Thank you sir."

"Table for two, please." Derek said to the hostess.

"Right this way." She said with a smile.

Derek and Aurora followed her to a booth and sat down. The hostess handed them both a menu and told them to enjoy their meal.

"So, what do you suggest?" Aurora said looking over the menu.

"The chicken fried steak." Derek replied without hesitation.

"Oh yeah!" Aurora agreed putting the menu down.

After a few minutes their waiter came over and took their order.

"Back to our game of 21 questions." Aurora said breaking the silence that had set in.

Derek let out a groan.

"Suck it up Mountain Man." Aurora giggled. "Do you live with your parents?"

Derek's jaw went slack.

"My parents passed away a couple of years ago. That's why I moved out here. To live with my older sister Laura." Derek told her in a hollow voice.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Derek." Aurora apologized.

"It's okay." Derek said with a small smile. "You know my sister would love you."

"You think? I can't wait to meet her." Aurora joked, thankful for Derek's skillful subject change.

"Who said you get to meet her?" Derek asked raising an eyebrow.

"You don't want me to meet you sister?" Aurora whined with a fake sniffle.

"And have you both bust my balls? Absolutely not." Derek said shaking his head incredulously.

Aurora threw back her head and laughed making Derek smiled wide.

"You two seem like you are having a good time." A young blonde man said walking up to their table.

Derek's body immediately tensed.

"What do you want Alex?" Derek barked out.

"Easy Derek. I just wanted to meet your lovely friend here." Alex, as Derek had called him, said turning his attention to Aurora. "I'm Alex. What's your name, darlin'?" he inquired holding out his hand.

"I'm Aurora." She said extending her hand to meet Alex's, but Derek grabbed her arm before she reached him.

"Leave Alex." Derek growled.

"Derek, what's wrong with you?" Aurora asked shaking her arm free from his grasp.

"Yeah old friend, what's wrong? You seem on edge." Alex said and Aurora could tell he was being coy.

"We are not friends." Derek spat. "Now leave, before I make you." Derek threatened.

"As you wish Hale. Don't want to cause a scene in front of your pretty little friend." Alex mocked.

At the words 'pretty little friend' Derek made a feral noise that sent a chill down Aurora's spine.

Alex gave Derek and intimidating glare but Derek refused to back down.

"See you around gorgeous." Alex shot back at Aurora as he turned to leave.

Derek didn't say a word until Alex was completely out of sight.

"What the hell just happened?" Aurora asked extremely confused as their waiter brought out their food.

"It's a long story." Derek huffed.

"Indulge me." Aurora said taking a bite of mashed potatoes.


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's note: This chapter is really long. Lol I hope you guys like it! :D_

XXXX _signifies passing of time_

_ENJOY!_

"He's just some jackass I know from work." Derek said between bites of his chicken fried steak.

Aurora eyed him suspiciously. She could tell there was way more to the story than Derek's lame explanation.

"It seems like there is some bad blood between you two. Like throat ripping, I hate your guts bad blood." Aurora said.

"Yeah…You could say that." Derek agreed. "How's your food?"

"Your subject changing skills are top-notch. You should give lessons." Aurora teased. "It's amazing. The mashed potatoes are my favorite."

Derek smiled. "I'm glad you like it. I come here a lot for lunch when I'm working."

"Next time we are going to my favorite restaurant." Aurora told him.

"Oh, there's going to be a next time? Are you going to make it a habit of eating dinner with me too?" Derek joked.

"Unless you have an objection to that?" Aurora pouted.

"No, no objection." Derek said. "I like having dinner with you princess." He said putting his hand on the table in front of Aurora, laying it flat with his palm facing up. Aurora placed her hand on Derek's, rubbing circles on his palm with her thumb. After a couple of seconds of silence, Derek opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by his phone ringing.

"Sorry." He said taking his hand away from Aurora's. He fished his cell phone out of his left jacket pocket and answered it. "Hey man, what's going on?"

There was a pause, while Derek listened to the person on the other end and then Derek said, "Maybe. I'm out to dinner right now, but if we finish in the next couple of minutes we might be able to make it."

There was another pause on Derek's end followed by him making a sour face.

"Yes, _we_. Now, I am going to get back to my date. I'll text you if we can make it." Derek said, his tone switching for relaxed to authoritative.

When he hung up the phone Aurora gave him a cheeky grin.

"Your date, huh?" she asked.

"What? Am I wrong?" Derek smirked.

"Are you this cocky and confidant with all the girls?" Aurora asked jokingly.

"I don't have other girls. I just have one. And she likes it when I'm cocky and confidant." Derek said smoothly.

Aurora's heart pounded furiously.

"What I'm I getting myself into?" Aurora asked smiling. "You are gonna be trouble. I can tell."

"Well considering you seem to have a knack for trouble, I should be just fine. Right?" Derek asked flashing a pearly white smile.

"Who was that on the phone?" Aurora asked deliberately avoiding Derek's question in hopes of making him squirm.

However, Aurora's omission of answering Derek's question didn't seem to faze him or make him lose that goofy grin.

"It was one of my roommates, Isaac. He and a couple of my other friends invited me to a movie. It starts at 6, if you are interested? That is of course, if you don't have other plans." Derek said.

"Wait. Your roommate? I thought you said you lived with your sister?" Aurora asked slightly confused.

"I do. Along with Isaac and the others. When I said estate, I meant mansion." Derek said lightly.

"Look at you Mr. Money Bags Forest Lover. You didn't tell me you were loaded." Aurora joked.

"I'm not. Laura and I inherited the property. Our grandfather built it for our grandmother. They left it for my parents and my parents left it for Laura and me. It's pretty much a family heirloom." Derek explained.

"Ah, I see. So, by "roommates" do you mean the rest of your creepy backwoods living exercise loving cult?" Aurora teased. "Oh no. You aren't trying to recruit me are you? Cause I am so not drinking the cool-aid buddy."

"You and your conspiracy theories never cease to amaze me." Derek said shaking his head. "Do you want to go to the movie or not? If so, we need to get going."

"Sure, I'm in." Aurora said with a smile. "I want to meet your friends."

"Why do I have a feeling I'm going to regret this?" Derek said getting up to pay the tab.

Aurora sent a quick text to her mom about going out with a friend and that she hoped her parents had a good flight. Her mom responded a couple of minutes later with a brief text about being extremely busy and her to have fun.

"Ready to go?" Derek asked holding out his hand for Aurora to take.

"Absolutely!" she replied with a smile lacing her fingers with Derek's.

XXXX

"Hey Derek! Over here!" called a tall boy with light brown hair and baby face as Derek and Aurora walked into the lobby of the movie theater.

The boy and several other people where crowded around a bench waiting for them to arrive.

"Aurora, this is Isaac." Derek said as the boy walked up to them.

"Nice to meet you!" Aurora said holding out her hand politely.

"Likewise. Wow, Derek didn't mention that his date was so incredibly beautiful." Isaac complimented shaking Aurora's hand.

Aurora's cheeks went pink.

"Aw, thank you. You're too sweet." Aurora said.

"All right. That's enough of that Romeo." Derek joked ruffling Isaac's hair.

Aurora had to smile at that. Seeing Derek in a playful mood made her stomach fill with butterflies.

'Oh man. Lizzie was right. I've got it so bad.' Aurora thought.

"I'm glad to see Der has made a new friend." Isaac told Aurora with a half smirk. "He's a bit of a grouch."

Aurora giggled as Derek grabbed Isaac and put him in a headlock.

She made a mental note to ask Derek later if he and Isaac were related. She got a distinct brotherly vibe from Derek when it came to Isaac, like he would do anything to protect him. It was amazing really. Aurora couldn't put her finger on it, but she was convinced they were family.

Derek gave Isaac one last playful ruffle of his hair before letting him go. Within a couple of seconds the rest of the group had found their way over to Aurora.

"Hey. I'm Jackson." said a tall good-looking guy with short hair. He looked like your quintessential jock, muscular with nice clothes and a wicked smile.

"Hi, Jackson. I'm Aurora." She said smiling back.

"Oh my gosh. Aurora, that's a lovely name." chimed in a beautiful girl with strawberry blonde hair.

"Thank you!" Aurora beamed.

"This is my girlfriend, Lydia." Jackson told her.

"Very nice to meet you." Aurora said.

"Well isn't she just the most polite thing you've ever seen." Mocked a slim girl with dark brown hair who had walked up to stand next to Isaac.

"Hailey. Don't be rude." Derek warned putting a protective arm around Aurora.

"Bless your heart for saying that." Aurora shot back at Hailey. If you want to tell someone to fuck off without coming right out and saying 'bless you heart' is the best way to go about doing so in the south.

Hailey rolled her eyes.

Aurora took a double take. Looking more closely, she realized there was something odd about Hailey.

Her eyes.

Aurora couldn't quite place where she had seen them before but they were painfully familiar.

They were golden brown.

"Where are Boyd and Erica?" Derek asked Isaac, snapping Aurora out of her trance.

"They went to see another movie." Isaac chuckled as they all began to make their way to theater number twenty.

"Yeah, Erica cracked the whip and made Boyd go see some chick flick." Jackson laughed over his shoulder. He and Lydia were holding hands walking slightly in front of Derek, Aurora, Isaac, and Hailey.

Lydia shot Jackson a dirty look that made Aurora want to run away and hide.

"The only reason we aren't with them is because I've already seen Breaking Dawn Pt. 2." Lydia challenged.

Jackson looked as if he wanted to argue, but he decided better of it.

"Well, now I know who wears the pants in that relationship." Aurora whispered to Derek who had to choke back a laugh.

When they got into the theater Hailey went immediately to the first row of the second tier of seats.

"Let's sit in this row so I can put our feet up on the bar." She said sitting down.

"Anything for you, Hailey." Jackson mocked under his breath.

Isaac followed her lead, then Lydia and Jackson. Derek then made himself comfortable next to Jackson, Aurora sitting on his other side.

"I'm so excited for this movie!" Aurora said happily.

"I would not have pegged you for a Bourne fan." Derek teased grabbing ahold of Aurora's hand.

"I'm not. I haven't seen the ones with Matt Damon." Aurora confessed. "I just really love Jeremy Renner's face…and his arms."

Derek made a 'what the fuck face.'

"Don't hate on my arm kink." Aurora said running her free hand over Derek's arm. "You have some pretty decent ones yourself."

"Just decant?" Derek challenged.

"Compared to Renner?" Aurora joked. "It's okay Derek. Just accept defeat."

"Never." Derek said giving Aurora's hand a light squeeze.

"Aurora, would you like to come with me to get something to drink?" Lydia asked scooting past Jackson and Derek.

"I can get you something babe." Jackson offered.

Lydia smiled at him fondly.

"It's okay Jacks, I can manage. So how bout it Aurora? Thirsty?" Lydia asked.

"Yeah, sure. I could use something to drink." Aurora said getting up. "Would you like anything?" she asked looking at Derek.

"Nah. I'll just share with you." He beamed.

"Who said you could share my drink? I don't want your forest cooties!" Aurora joked.

"Oh dear. Flirt later you two. I'd like to see the beginning of this movie." Lydia signed grabbing Aurora's hand to lead her away.

"You want anything Jacks?" Lydia called back.

"I'll share with you." Jackson said elbowing Derek like he just executed an inside joke perfectly.

Derek laughed as Lydia rolled her large hazel eyes.

When Aurora and Lydia got to the concession stand there were four people in front of them.

"Finally. Now. Spill." Lydia commanded turning to face Aurora.

"Wait. Spill what?" Aurora asked totally caught off guard.

"You and Derek! How long as he been hiding you? You two are an adorable couple. It's about time Derek found someone." Lydia gossiped.

"Whoa! We aren't dating! I only just met him a week ago!" Aurora said holding up her hands.

Lydia eyed her closely. "But you like him." It was a statement, not a question.

"He's tolerable." Aurora replied being facetious.

Lydia pondered for a moment then suddenly her eyes went wide.

"Oh. I see." She said nonchalantly.

"What?" Aurora narrowed her eyes.

"Nothing." Lydia said sweetly. "It's our turn." She said pushing Aurora up to the counter.

They ordered and Lydia was careful not to met Aurora's gaze.

"We better hurry! Don't want to miss the beginning of the movie!" Lydia said cheerfully after they paid for their sodas.

Aurora had to speed walk to keep up with Lydia who was seated and snuggled up to Jackson before Aurora could even sit down next to Derek.

"What kind of soda did you get?" Derek asked taking Aurora's hand again.

"Dr. Pepper." Aurora told him trying to make sense of what just happened.

"Look at that. We actually like the same kind of soda." Derek whispered as the lights went down.

"Oh no. It's a sign of the apocalypse." Aurora joked deciding to push Lydia's reaction out of her mind.

Derek chuckled taking a sip of the soda.

A little bit later, when the movie started, Derek leaned over to whisper in Aurora's ear, "My arms are totally bigger."

Aurora had to stifle a laugh.

XXXX

"That movie was so good!" Isaac said to Aurora as they shuffled out of the quickly emptying movie theater.

"Yeah it was! Jeremy Renner is such a bad ass." Aurora said.

"And damn good-looking on top of it." Lydia added getting a glare from Jackson.

"Oh my gosh, isn't he though." Aurora gushed.

The guys in the group collectively pretended to gag.

"He's not that great." Jackson said holding the exit door open for Lydia.

"Yeah, I could kick his ass." Derek agreed, doing the same for Aurora.

Once outside, Aurora linked her arm with Derek's nuzzling against his side.

"You're so jealous." Aurora taunted.

"I'm not jealous!" Derek protested.

"You so are. Don't worry though, regardless of his bigger arms, I still like you best Mountain Man." Aurora said.

"Mountain Man?" Isaac asked with a laugh.

"Don't not get her started." Derek warned.

"Erica just texted me. She said to meet her and Boyd at the Panda Express across the street. Their movie ended twenty minutes ago." Lydia said promptly.

"Alright, I see you all back at the house. I need to take Aurora back to her car." Derek told the gang.

After saying her goodbyes to everyone, and with another death glare from Hailey, Derek and Aurora headed back to the Camaro.

"That Hailey is quite the charmer." Aurora said sarcastically.

"She's not much of a people person." Derek said starting the car.

"I couldn't tell." Aurora joked. "I had a great time tonight, by the way."

"I'm glad." Derek said with a smile.

"Your friends seem really great. You know, apart from Hailey." Aurora teased.

'And Lydia's weird interrogation.' Aurora thought.

"They really like you. I can tell." Derek said.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me. Are you related to any of them?" Aurora asked.

"No." Derek laughed. "Why would you think that?"

"Dunno. You just seem really close with them. Especially Isaac. I just assumed you guys were family." Aurora said.

"We are family." Derek said.

"You're too cute." Aurora replied smiling over at Derek.

"Not that I'm not grateful for the compliment, but why does that make me cute?" Derek inquired.

"You are like the protective big brother. It's adorable." Aurora said.

Derek just shook his head and laughed.

"There is something bothering me though." Aurora told Derek.

"And what's that princess?" Derek mocked.

"Hailey. I feel like I know her from somewhere. I just can't place it." Aurora said.

"What makes you think that?" Derek asked.

"Well, this is gonna sound crazy, but her eyes. I feel like I've seen them before." Aurora said thoughtfully.

For a moment Derek was silent.

"We never finished our game of 21 questions." He finally said after what seemed like a lifetime.

"Is that your polite way of saying I'm weird?" Aurora laughed.

"Do you have any siblings?" Derek asked as they crossed back into Maricopa County.

Aurora decided not to spoil what had turned out to be an amazing night by questioning Derek's aversion to Aurora's strange claim.

"You know I'm so bringing this up later, right?" Aurora warned Derek who gave her a 'that doesn't surprise me look'.

"I have a little brother. He is thirteen." She said answering Derek's question.

"I always wanted a little brother." Derek said with a chuckle.

"You want mine? I would love to be an only child." Aurora said, completely kidding.

"Because you don't already get everything you want, right princess?" Derek mocked pulling into the camp site.

"You are never gonna let that go, are you?" Aurora sighed.

"Oh no. I have to have something to hold my own with. Considering you bust my chops every chance you get." Derek joked.

"Thanks for tonight Paul Bunyan." Aurora teased unbuckling her seatbelt. "I had a lot of fun."

"No problem. I did too." Derek said. "I'll walk you to your car."

Aurora wanted to make a smart ass comment about how her car was only two feet away but decided not to. Derek was trying to be sweet.

When they reached Aurora's car, she turned to face Derek, leaning against the driver's side door.

"Maybe we could hang out again sometime soon?" Aurora asked, taking Derek by surprise when she took a page out of his book and grabbed him by the hips.

"What did you have in mind?" Derek asked raising an eyebrow, tangling his fingers into Aurora's long brown hair.

"How do you feel about bowling?" Aurora asked sheepishly.

"Bowling?" Derek repeated flatly.

"My best friend Elizabeth and I are going bowling with our friend Ethan tomorrow night, and I was wondering if you aren't busy, if you'd like to join us?" Aurora asked hopefully.

"Ethan?" Derek said suspiciously.

"I'm going to ignore the fact that Elizabeth's existence doesn't seem to matter to you, and that you are coming off as an extremely possessive creep right now." Aurora said half-joking half-annoyed. "Is that a yes, King of the Wild Frontier?"

"Sure." Derek said.

Aurora could tell he was agitated that she didn't elaborate on Ethan.

'Too bad Sasquatch.' Aurora thought. 'You are not pulling the alpha male card with me right now.'

"Great! I'll pick you up here at five." Aurora said.

Derek looked like he wanted to protest.

"What?" Aurora asked irritably.

"I can just meet you at the bowling alley." Derek offered.

"If we are gonna be friends, there is something you need to know about me. I do things my way and rarely take a back seat to anyone." Aurora began. "So listen here Mr. I Need To Be In Control At All Times, I let you drive tonight, so I'm driving tomorrow. I promise I won't kill you. I passed my driver's test with flying colors." She continued to mock. "I trusted you without any question when I probably shouldn't have, could you at least do the same for me?"

Derek signed heavily.

"Okay, okay. You win. You can put those baby blue puppy dog eyes away now." Derek said in defeat.

"Yay!" She said throwing her arms around Derek's neck.

"I just want to warn you, I'm extremely competitive." He said.

"Why does that not even surprise me in the slightest?" Aurora laughed letting go of Derek. "Well, I'll let _you_ in on a little secret Tarzan, so am I." Aurora confessed.

"Tarzan is king of the jungle, not the forest princess." Derek teased pulled her into another embrace.

"Whatever." Aurora said as Derek nuzzled his face into her neck.

"That's another thing you and Silky have in common." Aurora said massaging the back of Derek's head with her fingertips.

"You and that damn wolf." Derek complained as the words came out muffled against Aurora's neck.

"Watch your tongue Mr. or I'll tell Silky you were talking shit." Aurora joked as Derek pulled away from her.

"Hhhmf." Was Derek's only response.

"Well I better get going. It's getting late." Aurora said checking her phone. It was already 9 p.m.

"See you tomorrow Aurora." Derek said with a smile looking down at her.

Lifting up on her tiptoes, Aurora leaned forward and gave Derek a light kiss on the lips. He kissed her back sweetly. It wasn't rushed or heated, just a simple little kiss.

'A perfect first kiss.' Aurora thought.

When she pulled away Derek was all smiles.

"Night Derek." She said turning to get into her car.

"Sweet dreams, princess." Derek said.

As she drove away, Aurora had a sudden urge to look in her rear view mirror. When she did, she saw Derek standing by his car, watching her drive away.

Talk about Déjà vu.


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's note: Hey! :D Thanks again to everyone reading my story! You guys are awesome! **XXXX **signifies the passing of time. _

_ENJOY!_

***2 p.m. Saturday afternoon***

"You invited stranger danger to bowling?!" Elizabeth scolded from her seat on the couch in Aurora's living room.

Aurora had asked Elizabeth to come over early to watch a movie or at least that's what Elizabeth had thought. However, it was really to spring the news of Derek's attendance that evening. Elizabeth was taking it better than Aurora had originally thought she would.

"You have to stop calling him that!" Aurora said exasperated, looking over at her friend from her lounge chair.

"You are ridiculous!" Elizabeth said throwing her hands in the air. "First you go on a date with the guy and don't even bother to tell me, now you are inviting him to bowling _**without telling me**_!"

"Hey! The date was impromptu! And I just told you." Aurora defended.

"I hate you." Elizabeth huffed. "And your stranger danger boyfriend. Who has the uncanny ability to make you forget how to use your brain."

"I will give you that one. He really really does. But he's not my boyfriend and he is not stranger danger!" Aurora argued.

"Uh huh." Elizabeth said folding her arms.

"I want you to meet him Lizzie! He's nice! And I like him. Give him a chance, please!" Aurora said throwing a smile her best friend's way.

"It's not like I have a choice." Elizabeth joked sticking her tongue out at Aurora.

"That's my girl!" Aurora beamed.

***4:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon***

Aurora and Elizabeth arrived at their friend Ethan's house to see that he was sitting on his porch swing waiting for them to show up.

"Are you sure you want to sit in the back?" Aurora asked Elizabeth from the driver's seat.

"Absolutely. Being back here makes it easier to observe." Elizabeth said as their friend Ethan joined her in the backseat.

"Observe what? Ethan, why didn't you take the front seat? Didn't you see that it was open?" Aurora asked suspiciously.

"Elizabeth text me. She said the front seat was for stranger danger. We are going to sit back here and judge. And why am I hearing about your new boyfriend from Liz and not you?" Ethan scolded.

"Do not call him stranger danger! Either of you!" Aurora warned. "And he's not my boyfriend E!"

"Uh huh." Ethan said sarcastically.

"Seriously? Not you too Ethan." Aurora whined.

"I figured you be happy that we are letting your new love bug ride shotgun." Elizabeth teased.

"That's enough from the peanut gallery." Aurora said. "It's probably for the best. Derek didn't seem too happy about Ethan's existence. I wouldn't want to put you two in close proximity."

"What the hell did I do?" Ethan asked extremely offended.

"You were born a male." Aurora laughed.

"He does know I'm gay, right?" Ethan asked.

"Nope. I don't need to explain my friendship with you to him. He can get over it. You are my friend and it doesn't matter if you like women are not we are gonna hangout either way." Aurora said defiantly.

"That's my girl! I would start a slow clap but I can't stand up." Elizabeth teased.

"I don't think he was so much offended as protective. Mountain Man strikes me as the possessive type." Aurora continued.

"Mountain Man?! And you got upset that I called him stranger danger?" Elizabeth mocked. "And you are telling me not only does he creep around in the woods but he's possessive too? Sounds like a charmer."

"Creep around in the woods?" Ethan asked raising an eyebrow.

"Don't ask." Aurora huffed. "Lizzie, he's sweet. You'll like him. Promise me you will have an open mind?" Aurora asked.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Elizabeth agreed.

"Well I think he sounds great." Ethan teased.

"Oh hush!" Aurora told him.

**XXXX**

Aurora was sure to get to the camp site at five o'clock on the dot. She didn't want to give Mr. Control Issues a reason to complain. He was leaning on the hood of his Camaro, his hands tucked firmly into the pockets of his leather jacket, when she pulled up.

"Damn girl. He's sexy." Ethan said as Derek walked over to the passenger's side of Aurora's car.

"He is easy on the eyes. I'll give you that." Elizabeth added quickly before Derek opened the door.

"Hey there, Mr. Forest Wandering Exercise Maniac!" Aurora taunted as soon as Derek was seated.

"Hi princess." Derek said sweetly leaning over to kiss her on the cheek.

Elizabeth made a gagging noise from the backseat, followed by Ethan snickering.

"Derek, these are my annoying, judgmental friends Elizabeth and Ethan." Aurora said snidely.

"Hello." Derek said in the direction of the backseat.

"Hey there stra-…Derek." Elizabeth laughed. Aurora could see Ethan convulsing in her rear view mirror.

"Ready to get your ass spanked at bowling?" Aurora asked Derek, ignoring Elizabeth and Ethan's whispers from the backseat.

"Isn't it my job to make the ass comments?" Derek teased making Aurora go a dark shade of red.

"What? Spanking not your thing?" Aurora asked boldly, her cheeks still pink.

"Not unless I'm the one doing the spanking." Derek said slyly.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Elizabeth groaned.

"TMI! TMI!" Ethan cried covering his ears.

"You two have lost your speaking privileges." Elizabeth scolded.

Aurora laughed glancing sideways at Derek who gave her a wink. Aurora felt her heart rate pick up.

"You okay there princess?" Derek asked as if he knew how Aurora's body had reacted.

"Right at rain, Mr. Wilderness." Aurora said trying to play it cool.

**XXXX**

When they arrived at the bowling alley, they all paid for three games and got set up on their lane.

"I think it should be guys versus girls, best two out of three." Elizabeth said writing her name on the screen.

"That is the best idea you have ever had my wonderful best friend." Aurora smirked.

"Fine with me." Ethan said.

"You aren't gonna cry when we beat you, right?" Derek asked.

"Don't you even start shit talking. You both might as well just give up now and save yourselves the embarrassment." Aurora warned.

"Please. Ethan, let's try not to beat them too bad. Aurora whines enough." Derek said clapping Ethan on the back playfully.

"I can't make any promises." Ethan joked. "When you're good, you just have to let it be. I can't hold back all this skill."

"How about we make this interesting? Losers buys the winners ice cream." Elizabeth proposed.

"Deal." Derek agreed.

"Oh, by the way, I like rocky road." Aurora taunted picking up a bowling ball.

"Mint chocolate chip for me!" Elizabeth chimed in settling down in the nearest seat, Ethan taking the seat next to her.

"Now who's shit talking?" Derek asked sitting down in a chair on the other side of the lane.

"It's not bragging if you back it up." Elizabeth said with a cocky smile as Aurora got a strike.

With a high-five to her best friend as Elizabeth got up for her turn, Aurora went over to sit next to Derek.

"I see your initial dislike for Ethan has subsided." Aurora observed whispering in Derek's ear.

"I figured I'd better be nice or you would throw a fit." Derek joked.

"You are such an ass. Ethan is a sweetheart." Aurora said slapping Derek's knee.

"As long as he's a sweetheart that doesn't touch you, I'm copacetic."

"Derek. I swear. You need to get that in check. You can't just say things like that." Aurora said as she saw Ethan get up to bowl out of the corner of her eye.

"What? I can't say that I don't want another guy touching my girl?" Derek asked.

"Now I'm your girl, huh?" Aurora retorted raising her eyebrows.

"Don't you wanna be?" Derek replied smoothly.

"You son of a bitch. You better be glad I have a thing for that cocky alpha male bullshit." Aurora admitted begrudgingly.

"Really princess? I thought you wore the pants in the relationship?" Derek mocked getting up to bowl when Ethan was done.

"I do!" Aurora spat. "And they're designer."

Aurora saw Derek trying to hold back a smile as he picked up a bowling ball.

As it turned out, Derek was an amazing bowler.

"Excuse me sir, how long have you been a member of the PBA?" Aurora asked in frustration.

"I like Cookie Dough." Was all Derek responded with.

Aurora stuck her tongue out at him and got up to bowl again.

Instead of going back to his seat, Derek stood behind Aurora as she got set to throw the ball.

"I can feel your creepy gaze!" Aurora called back to him. "Sit down."

"I'm just admiring the view." Derek teased.

"You are trying to distract me, you cheater!" Aurora said finally throwing the bowling ball. She only picked up seven pins.

"I would never!" Derek said pretending to be offended.

"If you don't sit down, you are going to digging a bowling ball out of a place you don't want it." Elizabeth warned.

Derek laughed, gave Ethan a fist bump, and made his way back to his seat.

Aurora joined him a few seconds later when she failed to get a spare.

"That Elizabeth is feisty." Derek teased putting his arm around Aurora.

"Oh yeah. Why do you think we are best friends? Peas in a pod buddy." Aurora smiled.

There was a cheer from Elizabeth as she got a strike.

"You're up E. Don't choke." Elizabeth taunted sitting back down.

"I don't like playing sports with you." Ethan whined getting up to take his turn.

"So, do you think you are gonna get another strike?" Aurora asked Derek putting her hand on his thigh.

"Don't you dare." He said with a chuckle.

"What?" Aurora asked pretending to be oblivious. She leaned forward placing small kisses a long Derek's jawline.

"You think you can distract me with that pretty face of yours?" Derek asked in a hushed tone looking into Aurora's eyes.

Aurora grinned running her hand through Derek's hair.

"Most definitely." Aurora told him.

"You're up Derek. And for the love of all that is holy, will you two stop?!" Elizabeth cried.

Derek gave Aurora a quick peck on the lips before jumping up to bowl.

Gutter ball.

Aurora knew she had gotten under his skin.

"Nice shot!" She taunted.

Derek tried to give her a dirty look but it ended up a look of frustration and affection when he saw the cocky smile on Aurora's face.

"I lied. Continue with your method Master Yoda." Elizabeth beamed over at Aurora.

**XXXX**

"I can NOT believe we lost by five points. FIVE POINTS!" Elizabeth complained as she and Aurora waited in line at Baskin & Robins. The girls had won the first game, the boys the second and it had come down to a third game tie breaker. Derek was the deciding factor of the boys victory when he picked up and seven-ten split in the tenth frame.

"Look at those two. I'd like to smack those smug looks of their faces." Aurora spat glancing over at Ethan and Derek who were sitting at a table waiting patiently for their ice cream.

Elizabeth let out a sigh and ordered Ethan two scoops of pistachio in a waffle cone.

"What if I "accidentally" dropped it?" Aurora joked smiling slyly at Elizabeth.

"Don't even think about it Aurora!" Derek shouted over.

"How the hell did he hear that?" Elizabeth wondered out loud. The girls paid and went over to sit with the boys.

"I have good hearing." Derek said taking a lick of his cookie dough ice cream.

"You have freaky Superman hearing." Aurora corrected.

When the boys were done with their ice cream, they all sat there making light conversation. Elizabeth seemed to have eased up on her judgment of Derek, laughing as he made some joke about him and Ethan being the kings of the bowling.

"More like the peasants of luck!" Aurora teased.

"Oh no. Ex-boyfriend alert." Ethan said with a disgusted look as he stared out the large window they were sitting in front of.

Aurora turned her head just in time to see Dylan and his new girlfriend, Aurora's ex friend Ashley, walking up the steps to the entrance of the ice cream parlor.

"Hey, come here." Derek said seeing Aurora's smile fade from her face.

Aurora let Derek pull her from the seat she was sitting in next to him on to his lap.

"Hi Aurora." Dylan said walking up to their table holding Ashley's hand. He was eyeing Derek irritably. Ashley fidgeted, careful not to take her eyes off the floor.

"Dylan." Aurora said putting her arms around Derek's neck.

"Who's this?" Dylan asked motioning to Derek.

"This is Derek. He's my…" Aurora started to say new friend but Derek cut her off.

"Boyfriend. I'm her boyfriend." He spat at Dylan whose face fell.

Elizabeth and Ethan shot Aurora a 'we told you so look' and Aurora deliberately ignored them.

"Oh." Dylan said flatly.

Aurora felt a slight pang of guilt for the joy she got from seeing Dylan squirm.

"Welp. That's enough awkward for me." Elizabeth said standing up. "We should get home."

"Yeah…" Ethan chimed in. "I've got plans with my boyfriend. He wants to take a break from this huge English paper he is writing." He continued.

"See you later Aurora." Dylan said as she stood up from her seat on Derek's lap.

"Like hell he will." Derek whispered as he stood next to her.

Aurora silently agreed but shot Derek a 'your being possessive again' out of instinct.

As they walked to Aurora's car Derek whispered in her ear "We need to talk."

**XXXX**

"It was good to meet you Elizabeth." Derek said as Aurora pulled in front of Elizabeth's house.

"Likewise." Elizabeth said with a smile. "Oh, and you can call me Liz."

"Hope to see you again Liz." Derek smiled looking back at her from the passenger's seat.

"Oh definitely. There is a rematch in our future." Elizabeth joked getting out of the car.

"Bye Lizzie! Call you later." Aurora said.

"Bye A! Love you!" Elizabeth called.

"Love you too bestie!" Aurora said before Elizabeth shut the door and walked up the path to her house.

When Elizabeth was safely inside Aurora put her car in drive and headed to the camp site. She had taken Ethan home first and decided to drop of Elizabeth so Derek and her could have that talk. But Derek didn't say anything the whole car ride back to the camp site. Aurora felt like she was going to explode from anticipation when she pulled up next to the Camaro and shut off her car. They both got out and Derek walked around to the driver's side to stand in front of Aurora who was leaning against the door.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Aurora asked nervously breaking the agonizing silence.

"I hope you didn't take what I said earlier about being your boyfriend that wrong way…" Derek began.

Aurora's heart thumped against her chest.

"Aurora? Are you all right?" Derek asked.

"That depends…Are you about to tell me that you don't want to be my boyfriend?" Aurora asked sadly looking into Derek's eyes.

Derek didn't respond.

_**TO BE CONTINUED**_


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's note: Hey everybody! I just wanted to say thank you all SO much for the amazing reviews. You all are FANTASTIC! And I'm so very glad you guys are enjoying the story! THANK YOU!_

_Enjoy!_

Instead, he just looked at Aurora as if she had lost her mind.

"What? No! I just didn't want you to be upset that I got so protective." Derek said.

Aurora felt her whole body relax.

"You tend to do that, ya know?" Derek teased. "And I didn't want you to think I just assumed that you were my girlfriend. Cause I haven't properly asked you to be mine."

"Be yours?" Aurora asked.

"Sorry. That's just how I operate. I want you to be mine, Aurora. And as you can tell, I'm possessive and extremely protective." Derek said. "Yes, I'm admitting to being both of those things." He spat when Aurora raised her eyebrows in a 'You don't say' manner. "That's the only reason I haven't asked you to be my girl. I know that it bothers you that I'm like that."

"It doesn't so much bother me as I'm not used to it." Aurora told him. "I've had one boyfriend in my entire life…"

Derek grumbled.

"And he was definitely not the kind of guy to care if I was around other guys or to be protective. As it turns out, I should have been the one concerned considering the fucking bitch cheated on me." Aurora said bitterly.

"That dumbass mother fucker cheated on you?" Derek fumed.

"It's okay Mountain Man. I'm better off without him. We weren't that serious. And he definitely wasn't the guy for me. Plus, if I was still with that loser I won't be standing here with you." Aurora smiled.

Derek returned the smile but still looked agitated.

"Speaking of the seriousness of a relationship, you and I are more serious after a couple of days of getting to know each other than Dylan and I were in five months. So, I really don't know how to handle…" Aurora paused searching for the words to explain her situation without being rude.

"You don't know how to handle me being extremely jealous and you think we might be moving too fast." Derek stated. "You can be honest Aurora. I know I'm…"

"Territorial?" Aurora offered.

Derek nodded letting out a deep breath. "I'm not trying to push you. And I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. I just…I really enjoy being around you. And I really want to be your boyfriend."

"You haven't been that bad, honestly. I actually got sick pleasure out of making Dylan angry." Aurora admitted "You're first reaction to Ethan aggravated me however."

"You didn't tell me he was gay." Derek argued.

"Why should I have?" Aurora challenged.

Derek's nostrils flared in anger but he said, "You have a point."

"Like I said, I'm just not used to it." Aurora continued. "I think it's kind of cute that you care that much though."

"Really?" Derek smiled.

"I said kind of. In a creepy sort of way." Aurora giggled.

"Sorry…" He said letting out a sigh. "I've just never felt this way about someone before. And this might come as a shocker…" Derek continued his tone turning completely sarcastic, "but I haven't dated much…"

Aurora giggled.

"Oh Mountain Man. You mean to tell me the ladies aren't lining up down the block to go on cross-country hikes and trample through the forest in the middle of winter?" She mocked.

Derek huffed.

"I'm just joking. I actually find it extremely hard to believe that you don't have girls trying to bust down your door every two seconds." Aurora told him being completely serious.

"Well, it turns out not many girls dig guys who...How do you put it? Creep around in the woods." Derek said poking fun at Aurora.

"Really? Well that's their loss. Cause that's totally my type." Aurora teased. "And you should definitely ask me to be your girlfriend." She said smiling wide.

"I can't promise I won't be possessive and…territorial, as you put it." Derek told her.

"And I can't promise not to be defiant and roll my eyes at you when you freak out that another guy breathes the same air that I do." Aurora replied.

"Trust me when I tell you, I wouldn't know what to do with myself if you weren't your sassy little self. I can't lie…it's a pretty big turn on." Derek confessed with a smirk.

Aurora nearly died. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears as her cheeks went a violent shade of red.

"Well since we are confessing our feelings...and even though I probably need all kinds of therapy for thinking this…It's pretty hot when you are all…territorial." She muttered.

Derek grabbed Aurora's hips and kissed her furiously. Aurora didn't have time to think; she just automatically threaded her fingers through Derek's hair and kissed him back. She pressed her body against Derek's, massaging her tongue against his. The kiss was hot and heavy, a complete one eighty from the first little kiss they shared. Aurora almost forgot to breathe until Derek broke the kiss to let her do just that, his chest heaving as well. Aurora wrapped her arms around Derek's neck, biting his bottom lip playfully as they struggled to regulate their breathing.

"Aurora, will you be my girlfriend?" Derek asked pressing his forehead against her's.

"Absolutely." Aurora agreed giving him an Eskimo kiss.

Derek smiled and pressed his lips to hers again. This kiss however, was cut short by the sound of Aurora's phone ringing. Aurora fumbled for her phone, still flustered from Derek's kiss. When she finally got it out of her pocket she looked at the caller id to see her brother was calling her.

"Hey baby brother. What's going on?" Aurora answered trying not to sound winded.

"How much do you love me, my lovely big sister?" Nathaniel asked her sweetly.

Aurora narrowed her eyes as Derek chuckled. He had obviously used his crazy super hearing and could tell that Aurora's little brother was buttering her up for something.

"Get on with it, brat." Aurora said impatiently.

"Can you take Ben and me to get some pizza?" Nathaniel asked hopefully. "Ben's mom is helping his little brother with homework and his dad went to bed early because he's not feeling well…And Ben and I don't want to eat meatloaf." He added in a rush.

"No problem punk. I will be there in a bit." Aurora chuckled.

"Thanks Sis!" Nathaniel said cheerfully.

"You're welcome bro. I love you." Aurora said.

"Love you too!" Nathaniel replied.

When Aurora hung up the phone she looked up to see a huge smile on Derek's face.

"He seems like a good kid." Derek said.

"He really is." Aurora told him. "I better get going, before Ben and Nathaniel gnaw their own arms off." She joked.

"Do you want to have lunch with my sister and me tomorrow at my house?" Derek asked.

"Yes!" Aurora shouted excitedly.

"Meet you here at 12:30?" Derek asked with a chuckle.

"Here? I could just meet you at your house?" Aurora offered.

"It's pretty difficult to get to my house if you don't know exactly where you are going." Derek told her. "I'll just meet you here after my morning run and you can drive us back. That way I can show you how to get to my house for future reference." He continued smiling fondly.

"Sounds good." Aurora said reaching up her right hand to run her thumb across Derek's lower lip.

He pulled her in for one last kiss before they said goodbye.

"See you tomorrow afternoon after you're ridiculously long super exerciser run through the woods." Aurora joked opening her door.

"Have fun with your brother Aurora. I'll see you tomorrow." Derek told.

Aurora's brain was on hyper drive as she made her way to Ben's house, which was right across the street from her own. She was trying with all her might not to freak out with joy over what had just transpired between her and Derek. When she pulled up to Ben's, Nathaniel and he were playing basketball in the drive way. Ben's house had a large security light on the garage which was shining bright so the boys could see. It was 8 p.m. and Maricopa being the small county that it is was silent and dark.

"Let's go guys!" Aurora yelled rolling down her passenger's side window.

Ben stored the basketball they were using on his porch while Nathaniel called shotgun running over to jump in Aurora's car. When Ben was settled in the backseat, Aurora rolled up Nathaniel's window and set off to Sardella's.

"Why were you out of breath earlier when I called?" Nathaniel asked innocently.

Aurora nearly choked.

"Elizabeth and I were racing." Was the only horribly lame excuse Aurora could come up with but it was still better than telling her little brother the real reason she was winded.

"Racing? You know Elizabeth is faster than you. Did you just feel like losing?" Nathaniel laughed.

"Shut up, brat. Or I'll let you starve." Aurora joked extremely relieved that Nathaniel believed her stupid story.

"I still get to eat, right?" Ben asked poking fun at Nathaniel.

"Of course Ben. You aren't the annoying little pest making fun of my lack of cardio skills." Aurora assured him.

"You're so mean to me!" Nathaniel teased.

"Cry me a river. You are so mistreated." Aurora taunted giving her brother a playful punch to the arm after she parked in front of the pizza place.

**XXXX**

When they were done eating, Aurora let the boys play the video game located in the Sardella's lobby before heading home. Ben and Nathaniel wanted to stay longer but the restaurant was closing. It was almost ten before Aurora and the boys got home. Aurora parked in her normal spot in front of her house and walked the boys back over to Ben's.

"Thank you Aurora!" Ben said giving her a big hug.

"No problem kid." Aurora told him returning his embrace.

"Yeah, you are the best sister ever." Nathaniel said hugging her after Ben let go.

"Aw! Thanks munchkin. You're not too bad yourself." Aurora teased squeezing her brother tight.

When the boys said their good nights and were safely inside, Aurora headed back over to her house. She crossed the street quickly and headed up the cement path that lead to her porch steps. It was then that she noticed something strange. A chill washed over Aurora when she realized that her front door was standing wide open. She hadn't noticed it earlier because she had been distracted with Ben and Nathaniel when she first got home. Her heart pounding as she tried to remember if she had shut the door when she left for Ethan's house earlier that afternoon. She and Elizabeth had been talking but she distinctly recalled closing the door. As a matter of fact, she was sure she had shut _and_ locked the door because Elizabeth had reminded her to do so. Aurora looked closely at the frame to see if there were any signs of splinters or cracked wooded but nothing seemed out of place as far as she could tell. Deciding that standing there gawking at the door was not the best course of action, Aurora turned tail and ran as fast as she could back to Ben's. She knocked furiously until Ben's mother, Mrs. Carter opened the door.

"Aurora, what's wrong darling, you looked terrified." Mrs. Carter asked her voice full of concern as she motioned for her to come inside.

"I think someone broke into our house." Aurora said half to Mrs. Carter half to her brother who was sitting on the couch next to Ben. The boys had been playing a video game when Aurora showed up.

"What?!" Nathaniel said jumping up to hug his sister. "Are you okay? Did you see anyone?"

"I'm fine. Just startled. And no, I didn't see anyone but our door is standing wide open and I know for a fact I shut it before I left this afternoon." Aurora told everyone in the living room.

"We should call Ryan." Mrs. Carter said referring to the sheriff and Elizabeth's dad, Mr. Walker. Aurora let Nathaniel lead her over to the couch as Mrs. Carter grabbed the phone on the table next to her chair that she had been sitting in. It looked as though she had been reading while the boys played their game.

Mrs. Carter dialed what Aurora assumed was Mr. Walker's home number considering it was almost ten fifteen at night and waited patiently. It only took two rings before the sheriff answered.

"Hello, Ryan? It's Juliana Carter. I'm sorry to call so late but Aurora Montgomery is here and she believes someone has broken into her house." Mrs. Carter explained.

There was a short pause followed by Mrs. Carter saying, "Okay, we will see you soon."

It took Mr. Walker less than fifteen minutes to arrive, his house only a couple blocks up the road.

"Are you all right Aurora?" Mr. Walker asked examining her from head to toe.

Aurora and Elizabeth had been inseparable since they were five and in a lot of ways, Mr. Walker was like a second dad to her.

"I'm fine." Aurora said with a small smile. "Just a little weirded out."

"I've got two of my guys checking out the house right now. They should be over here with a report any minute." Mr. Walker told her giving her shoulder a light squeeze. "You're mom and dad are still on their business trip, right?"

"Yeah. They won't be back till Monday night." Ben chimed in.

Suddenly there was a hard knock at the Carter's front door that made Aurora jump. Mrs. Carter looked through the peep hole before letting in two men dressed in jeans and old t-shirts into her living room.

"No one on the premises, sir." Said the shorter of the two men.

"Did anything appear to be taken?" Mr. Walker inquired.

"Not that we could tell, sir. Perhaps we could accompany Miss Montgomery back over there so she can assess the damage?" Asked the taller one.

"Aurora, would you be comfortable doing that? We need to make sure nothing was taken." Mr. Walker told her.

"Yeah, I can do that." Aurora said.

"Are you staying at the Carter's, Nathaniel?" Mr. Walker asked turning his attention to Aurora's brother.

"Yes sir." Nathaniel said.

"Good. Is it all right if he stays until James and Katherine get back from their trip?" Mr. Walker asked Mrs. Carter.

"Of course!" Mrs. Carter exclaimed.

"Thank you. Aurora can stay at my house. I'm sure my daughter will be thrilled." Mr. Walker said with a chuckle.

"Sleep over just like old times, right Mr. Walker?" Aurora said with a smile.

"Well, not exactly like old times. If you two play loud music or break a lamp because you decide to have pillow fight like you did when you were kids, I'll ground you both. And trust me when I say I have the authority to do so." The sheriff said with a chuckle.

"Yes sir!" Aurora agreed.

Aurora gave Nathaniel one last hug before she headed back over to her house with the sheriff and the two other officers. The men who had searched the house previously had left the living room light on so Aurora only had to flip on the light in the hall after she made her way upstairs. The first room they checked belonged to her parents. Aurora went immediately to her mother jewelry box that was sitting on top of a dresser placed against the far left wall of the room, adjacent to her parent's bed. Looking through it thoroughly, she wasn't able to find anything out of place. Next was Nathaniel's room. All of his video games seemed to be untouched scattered messily, the way he keep them, next to his Wii. Finally, Aurora entered her room, looking automatically toward her laptop which she kept on the desk in the far right corner. It didn't look disturbed. Nothing looked out of place and none of her DVDs, cds, or books had been stolen.

"That's so strange." The sheriff said when Aurora told him that as far as she could tell nothing had been taken. "Maybe something startled them?" He mused.

It was then when Aurora by luck notice something astray.

"It looks like someone went through my hamper." Aurora said walking over to pick up the dirty clothes that were thrown all over her floor. "I don't leave my clothes on my floor like this. And I know these jeans were in my hamper because I put them there this morning." She said putting the jeans she had worn on her date with Derek the night before back in the wicker basket.

"Somebody went through your dirty clothes?" Mr. Walker asked in a puzzled voice.

Aurora shrugged.

"Maybe they thought there would be cash?" She speculated.

"Maybe." Mr. Walker agreed but he didn't sound convinced. "Alright, well why don't you gather what you need and we will deal with this in the morning. I'll call your parents tomorrow before I file an official report."

Aurora did as she was told, grabbing some pajamas and an outfit to wear for Sunday and Monday. She made a quick stop to her bathroom at the end of the hall to get her tooth brush and comb before heading downstairs with the sheriff. Aurora turned off the lights and locked the house before getting into the passenger's seat of Mr. Walker's truck. The other officers headed back home as well. The car ride to Mr. Walker's house was silent due mostly to the fact that Aurora was trying to make sense of what had happened and was lost in her own head. Mr. Walker parked in the garage and they entered the house through the laundry room door which connected to the kitchen.

"Liz should be in her room. I told her what happened before I left so she is probably worried sick." Mr. Walker told Aurora as he walked over to the refrigerator to grab three bottles of water. He handed two to Aurora and opened the third for himself.

"Thank you for everything Mr. Walker." Aurora said with a smile.

"No problem Aurora, you're family. And don't worry. We will figure this out." He reassured her.

Taking the two bottles of water, Aurora exited the kitchen and made her way to the stairs in the living room. She climbed them as fast as she could with her large overnight bag slung over her right shoulder. When she reached Elizabeth's room she knocked lightly with her free hand and entered.

"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?!" Elizabeth asked launching herself at Aurora. Putting her bag on the ground and tossing the two water bottles on Elizabeth's nearby bed, Aurora was able to return her friend's hug.

"I'm completely fine. No physical harm just frazzled nervous." Aurora said. "Lizzie, you remember me locking the front door this afternoon, don't you?"

"Yeah! I reminded you to and you gave me attitude and said 'yes mom' like the smartass bitch you are." Elizabeth teased.

Aurora laughed.

"I knew I did. It's so crazy though; there are no signs of forced entry. And absolutely nothing missing that I can tell. So that means some creep picked the lock on my front door just to go through my hamper." Aurora said disgusted as she and Elizabeth went over to sit on the bed.

"Whoa! What?! Some creep went through you dirty clothes? That is fucking weird!" Elizabeth cringed.

"Tell me about it." Aurora said picking up one of the bottles of water to take a drink.

"It's official. New subject. We will deal with this crap in the morning. For now, let's get in our pajamas and watch The Hangover." Elizabeth said trying to cheer up her best friend.

"Best plan EVER!" Aurora smiled bouncing off the bed to grab her bag.

When they were both changed and settled back in bed, Aurora set her phone alarm for ten in the morning.

"Why are you setting an alarm?" Elizabeth asked noticing her friend's action.

"I'm going to have lunch at Derek's tomorrow. He wants me to meet his sister." Aurora told her.

"Oh really?" Elizabeth asked slyly.

"Really. And…He asked me to be his girlfriend!" Aurora said excitedly.

"Ah! Congratulations!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

"Thanks bestie! He's not so bad after all, right?" Aurora asked.

"Nah. He's pretty cool. I still think the whole possessive thing is a little weird but if you are happy then I'm happy." Elizabeth beamed.

"I'm so glad you are my best friend Lizzie." Aurora said giving Elizabeth an awkward side hug because of the way they were laying on the bed.

"Right back at you!" Elizabeth replied.

When they both got comfortable, Elizabeth pushed play. It didn't take long before Aurora's eyes started to feel heavy. Before they were even twenty minutes into the movie Aurora had dozed off.


	9. Chapter 9

Author's note: Hey y'all! :) Fair warning: besides the beginning, this chapter is purely fluff and cheesy jokes. It's basically just a fun little filler chapter. Lol 

Enjoy!

**Aurora's eyes snapped open. **

**She was lying on the cold dirty surface of the forest floor. Her vision was foggy and she had no idea how she had gotten there. **

** "Hello?! Aurora called lifting herself gingerly off the ground. **

**It was dark and Aurora could see a huge shadow looming in the distance. She squinted her eyes to make out the silhouette more clearly but it was no use. She could see one thing, however. **

**Red eyes.**

**Two huge, blood-red eyes were fixated on her, sending a shot of fear through her heart. These eyes were not the friendly eyes of the wolf that saved her. These eyes definitely did not belong to Silky. Every fiber of her mind told her to run. **

**So she did. **

**She ran as fast as she could through the woods, branches grabbing at her skin, cutting her as she tried to escape whatever was after her. Suddenly, Aurora heard someone call her name. She stopped fast, turning to see who the voice belonged to. But instead of turning to face a person, she was face to face with those terrifying eyes. **

** "What do you want?! Who are you?" She cried.**

**The shadow didn't answer; instead Aurora just heard the sound of a terribly malicious laugh echo through the woods.**

Aurora woke with a start. She was covered in a cold sweat, her chest heaving.

'It was just a nightmare.' Aurora thought trying to calm herself.

She looked over to see Elizabeth sleeping peacefully next to her. Sitting up so that her back was resting against the headboard of the bed, Aurora grabbed her phone off the table she had sat it on the night before. She yawned and looked at the time, it was 9:30 a.m.

Aurora turned off the alarm she had set and got out of bed as quietly as she could. She decided to take a shower since she was soaked in sweat, making her way to the bathroom at the end of the hall with a change of clothes and two towels she had snagged from the closet next to Elizabeth's room.

After her shower, Aurora felt a million times better. She dressed in the bathroom and made her way downstairs to the kitchen.

"Morning Aurora! How are you feeling?" Mrs. Walker asked greeting her with a kind smile. She was cooking something that smelled so delicious it made Aurora's mouth water.

"I'm doing well. How are you Mrs. Walker?" Aurora asked taking a seat next to Mr. Walker at the kitchen table. He was drinking a cup of coffee, a couple pieces of paper laid out before him.

"I'm well. Would you like breakfast?" Mrs. Walker replied grabbing four plates from the cabinet.

"Yes please!" Aurora said.

"I spoke to your parents about an hour ago. They know the situation and they know you are going to stay here until Monday when they get back." Mr. Walker said to her.

"Is that the official report?" Aurora asked motioning to the papers.

"Yeah, I will be interviewing your neighbors today, to see if one of them saw anything." He told her as Mrs. Walker brought them each a plate filled with bacon and hash browns.

Aurora ate while Mrs. Walker asked her how school was going and if she liked Honor Society. She was half way done with her plate when Elizabeth joined them in the kitchen.

"Morning!" Aurora said.

"Good morning." Elizabeth replied sitting down at the table. Mrs. Walker fixed her and plate and went back to asking Aurora about school.

"I'm so proud of you and Elizabeth for being honor students." Mrs. Walker gushed.

"Thank you Mrs. Walker." Aurora smiled as Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"Mom, we've been honor students since freshman year. It's not that exciting anymore." Elizabeth teased.

"Well excuse me for being proud of my baby girl." Mrs. Walker joked back with a wink at Aurora.

After breakfast Elizabeth and Aurora went back upstairs to Elizabeth's room to hangout. Aurora sat on the bed and looked at her phone to check the time. She saw that it was almost twelve and decided that she and Elizabeth need to hatch a plan.

"Okay. If your parents ask, just tell them I went to Dylan's to work on a lab project." Aurora told Elizabeth.

Elizabeth was sitting at her desk, arms folded with a scowl on her face.

"Why don't you just tell them the truth?" Elizabeth asked.

"Oh, yeah I'll just do that! And what do you propose I say? Mr. Walker, I know you're the sheriff and all but could you please overlook the fact that my boyfriend is legal and I'm not? Oh, and please don't tell my parents?" Aurora mocked.

"Damn it. Fine. So the story is that you are going to your ex-boyfriend's house to do homework?" Elizabeth huffed.

"Exactly. Unless you have a better idea?" Aurora asked.

"No. That should work. How long will you be gone?" Elizabeth inquired.

"I don't know. Till six?" Aurora guessed.

"Five and a half hours?! What the hell are you two gonna do for five and a half hours?... Don't answer that!" Elizabeth cried.

"Oh my God. Get your mind out of the gutter! It was just an estimation. I might be back earlier." Aurora laughed.

"No later than six okay? I don't like lying to my parents." Elizabeth said.

"No later than six. And thank you Elizabeth. Seriously." Aurora told her sincerely.

"I know you would do the same for me." Elizabeth said with a sigh and a hint of smile.

"In a heartbeat!" Aurora reassured her. "I better get going."

"Have fun with stranger danger." Elizabeth joked.

"I'll tell him you say hi." Aurora laughed getting up from the bed.

Elizabeth gave her a sarcastic thumbs up.

**XXXX**

When Aurora arrived at the camp site, Derek was already there. It didn't take her long to notice that he looked different. Instead of his usual jeans, black t-shirt and leather jacket, he was wearing a white tank top with black sweat pants. As he walked over to the car, Aurora could see sweat glistening off his arms and chest.

"Did you have a nice run?" Aurora asked as Derek got in the passenger's seat.

"I did." Derek replied leaning over to give her a kiss.

Even though he was covered in sweat, he still smelled like his cologne. Aurora loved that smell.

"Great! Before we set off on our adventure to Casa de Hale, what's your number?" Aurora asked putting her car in park before taking out her cell phone.

She hit the new contact button on her Droid Two and Derek rattled off his number as Aurora entered it into her phone.

"I'm totally saving it under Mountain Man." Aurora joked storing Derek's number.

"Well, then I've got to save yours under Princess." Derek stated pulling out his phone from the right pocket of his sweat pants.

"I would be sad if you didn't." Aurora teased before reciting her number for Derek. "I just need to download a ringtone for you really fast and we can head out." She told him as she pulled up the song she had in mind on her phone and pushed buy.

"What song?" Derek asked curiously.

"Grab the second cd in the holder…" Aurora said pointing to the glove box. "And turn it to number five."

Derek complied as Aurora set his ringtone and put her phone down in the cup holder closest to her.

"It's called Wanted by Jessie James." Aurora said as the song started to play.

"The outlaw?" Derek joked.

"The singer, dumb dumb. And she's a girl." Aurora giggled.

Derek smiled, falling silent to listen to the lyrics. Aurora put the car in drive and headed down the dirt road that led into the woods.

"_Put my lips on your mouth _

_Keep you comin' around_

_Cause I like it_

_Put your hands on my hips _

_Take me down sink that ship_

_Boy I can't resist!"_

Derek gave Aurora a sly smile.

"_I wanna wear my hair wild in a mess_

_Cut-off jeans, can you get with that?_

_Give you some like you've never had_

'_Cause I only wanna to be wanted by you"_

"This song is appropriate. Cause I definitely want you." Derek in a husky voice making Aurora's blood run hot.

"What about you Mountain Man? Do you have a song in mind for my ringtone?" Aurora asked stopping at a fork in the road.

"Make a right. And no, I don't listen to music that much." Derek told her.

Aurora took the right and shot Derek a 'figures' look.

"I like classic rock." He offered.

"Let me get this straight. You drive a Chevrolet, you listen to classic rock, and you wear a leather jacket?" Aurora asked raising one eyebrow. "Holy shit. Are you Dean Winchester?" She joked.

"Dean who?" Derek asked. His voice a mixture of confusion and jealousy.

Aurora rolled her eyes and sighed.

"He's fictional, Derek. Don't freak out." She giggled. "Next weekend we are so having a Supernatural marathon."

"Supernatural?" Derek asked.

"It's a show. And it's fucking awesome. And you are gonna watch it." Aurora told him with a smile.

"Yes ma'am." He mocked.

"Could you please change this cd with the one that says Aurora's mix in the holder? It should be the third one." Aurora said.

Derek did as she asked.

"Listen to some of these songs and see if you like any of them enough to be my ringtone." Aurora smiled.

"All right. Let's see." Derek said turning up the volume a bit. "Oh, you are gonna make a left here and follow this road for a while."

"Rodger that." Aurora said.

"You look a little tired. Did you sleep okay last night?" Derek asked as track one started to play.

"I had a pretty bad nightmare." Aurora confessed. "It was probably just because I went to bed worried."

"Why did you go to bed worried?" Derek questioned with worry of his own.

Aurora was silent for a moment. She really didn't want Derek to freak out.

"When I got home last night my front door was wide open and it seemed as though someone had been in my room." Aurora finally told him.

The words had barely left her mouth before Derek looked as though he was going to explode from rage.

"Did you see anyone? Did they take anything? What did the police say? You didn't get hurt did you?" Derek bombarded her with a whirlwind of questions.

"Derek." Aurora said calmly. "It's okay. I didn't see anyone, nothing was taken, the police are working on finding some leads, and I'm not hurt. Honestly." She said reaching over to give his arm a comforting squeeze.

Derek looked like a caged animal. Aurora wasn't sure if he was going to hyperventilate or Hulk out.

"Breathe Derek." She reminded him.

Thankfully, he listened to her, taking a deep breath.

"As long as you are okay." He said in a hushed voice.

"I'm completely fine. I'm even staying at Elizabeth's until my parents get back."

"You were staying home alone?" Derek choked.

"Derek! For the love of God. I'm sixteen, not six!" Aurora scolded.

Derek grumbled.

"Chill Mountain Man. I'm safe. Aren't you supposed to be listening to music?" Aurora mocked.

"_I'm starting with the man in the mirror_

_I'm asking him to change his ways_

_And no message could have been any clearer_

_If you want to make the world a better place_

_Take a look at yourself and make a change"_

"What's this?" Derek asked attempting to calm down.

"Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson. It's my inspirational song." Aurora smiled.

"I like it." Derek smiled back as the song ended and the next song began.

"_So, what am I not supposed to have an opinion_

_Should I keep quiet just because I'm a woman"_

Derek raised both eyebrows.

"_This is for my girls all around the world_

_Who've come across a man who don't respect your worth_

_Thinking all women should be seen, not heard_

_So what do we do girls?_

_Shout louder!"_

"What? This is my girl power song." Aurora laughed.

"Why does it not surprise me that you have a girl power song?" Derek asked rhetorically.

"Don't hate!" Aurora joked as Derek pushed next. "What the hell is this song?!" He asked in disgust a few seconds later.

"_You're insecure_

_Don't know what for_

_You're turning heads when you walk through the door_

_Don't need make up_

_To cover up_

_Being the way that you are is enough"_

Aurora busted out laughing.

"What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction." She told him.

"_Baby you light up my world like nobody else_

_The way you to flip your hair gets me overwhelmed_

_But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell_

_You don't know (oh oh)_

_You don't know you're beautiful!"_

"Make it stop!" Derek cried hitting next again.

"_Hey girl I'm waiting on yah, I'm waiting on yah. _

_Come on and let me sneak you out. _

_And have a celebration, a celebration. _

_The music up the window's down."_

Derek made a sour face.

"_Let's go crazy, crazy, crazy till we see the sun. _

_I know we've only met but let's pretend it's love. _

_And never, never, never stop for anyone. _

_Tonight let's get some."_

"And live while we're young!" Aurora sang.

"I think my ears are bleeding." Derek complained pushing next hastily.

"I take it you aren't a One Directioner?" Aurora teased.

"I don't even know what the fuck that is. But I'm sure the answer to your question is hell no." Derek said changing the song.

"_I'm a free fall_

_Straight up out of control_

_Full of words of wisdom_

_I'm seeing double vision"_

"This is better." Derek said nodding his head to the beat.

"_From a dead on head on crash course in collision_

_A sucker for a kind word_

_Every voice I've heard_

_This is my answer for you_

_There you go again being beautiful you_

_Setting fire to all you hold on to_

_There's a blaze in my hand portraying one-sided views_

_I'm letting go again, won't be another friend to a_

_Beautiful, a beautiful you"_

"Beautiful You by Saving Abel." Aurora said with a grin.

"Put this on the list as a definite possibility." Derek told her skipping to the next song.

"_Your love tells a story baby_

_Well I've been reading between the lines lately_

_The first page down rip it out and roll it up_

_I burn it like a star falling down to the earth_

_I always seem to love the things that kill me"_

Derek nodded his approval and Aurora noted any song with a good guitar riff seemed to make him happy.

"_Take your sticks and stones 'cause they don't break me_

_Leave your guns and horse at your Western baby_

_I am gonna die by your suicide eyes"_

"I like this one too." Derek told her.

"It's called Suicide Eyes by A Thousand Horses." Aurora said. "Side note, are we almost to your house?"

"Couple more miles." Derek told her.

"You did NOT run this far." Aurora said shaking her head. "You're insane! What time did you leave? SIX?"

Derek chuckled but didn't answer, instead he skipped to the next song.

"_The cotton wood fallin' like snow in July_

_Sunset, riverside, four-wheel drive and a tail light circle_

_Roll down the windows, turn it on up_

_Poor a little Crown in a Dixie cup_

_Get the party, started"_

"I love this song so much." Aurora said cranking up the volume.

"_Girl you make my speakers go "BOOM BOOM"_

_Dancin' on the tailgate in a full moon_

_That kinda thing makes a man go mhmm mhmm_

_You're lookin' so good in what's left of those blue jeans_

_Drip of honey on the money maker gotta bee_

_The best buzz I'm ever gonna find.._

_I'm a little drunk on you, and high on summertime"_

"Ooo, this is my favorite part!" She shouted. "_Well if you ain't a ten, you're a 9.9. Tippin' and spillin' that homemade wine on your tied-up, t-shirt. Every little kiss is drivin' me wild, throwin' little cherry bombs into my fire. Good God al-mighty_!" Aurora sang, dancing in her seat.

"I pick this one." Derek beamed over at her as she tuned the volume back to normal.

"It's called Drunk On You by Luke Bryan." Aurora said cheerfully.

"You'll have to set it for me. I'm not technologically savvy." Derek confessed.

"Why does _that_ not surprise _me_?" Aurora taunted.

Derek wrinkled his nose.

"My house is just around that corner." He said pointing to a left turn that led to a huge paved driveway.

"HOLY SHIT!" Aurora managed to say as she turned up the driveway to see a gigantic house at the end of it.

"You can park next to the Camaro." Derek laughed seeing Aurora's awestruck face.


	10. Chapter 10

_Author's note: Just a reminded _**XXXX **_signifies a jump in time. :) Also, sorry for the cliffhanger. It's not suspenseful! ;) This chapter was just getting really long so I split it up into Chapter 11._

_ENJOY!_

Derek's house was gorgeous. Surrounded by pine trees, it looked like a little oasis in the forest. Except nothing about the house was little. It was three stories, painted white with an eloquent light blue trimming. Everything was huge, from the large full glass window on the right side of the house to the monstrous antique cedar wood door. There were giant rose bushes everywhere. It was easily the most beautiful sight Aurora had ever seen.

"Come on, I'll show you around." Derek said getting out of the car.

Aurora followed him, taking his hand as he led her through the front door. Inside, Aurora had to hold back a gasp. The living room was massive. She let go of Derek's hand to walk over to peer out window she had seen from outside. It started at the floor and shot up all the way to the ceiling, easily eight feet in the air. There were magnificent blue curtains draped back so that any inhibitor of the living room could see the driveway and the beautiful view of the forest. Turning around, Aurora noticed a stunning fireplace on the far right wall. Shifting her gaze back a bit, her eyes landed on the enormous spiral staircase that led to the next level of the house. On the left side of the staircase was a sitting area. A relatively new big screen TV sat on an entertainment center with a vast black leather couch facing it. Two love seats set a part from the couch on either side making a square.

"Did I say 'holy shit'? I meant OH MY GOD!" Aurora exclaimed walking over to the couch. "This place is breathtaking!" She said sitting down.

"Thank you." Derek replied with a smile walking over to her. He stood in front of the coffee table that was placed between the couch and the TV. "I really want to give you the grand tour but first, would you mind if I showered really fast?"

"Not at all." Aurora smiled. "I'll just hang out here." She said laying her body across the huge couch.

"Laura should be home soon. She just had to run to the store." Derek added.

"Okie dokie. Oh, give me your cell phone and I will download that ringtone for you."

"Try not to cause too much damage." Derek joked handing her his phone. "I better not have girly wallpaper like red hearts or something when I come back."

Aurora gave him a wicked smile before he turned and headed upstairs. As soon as Derek disappeared from sight, naturally Aurora's first notion was to set his wallpaper as red hearts. Before she could do so however, a better idea popped into her mind. She took her own phone out of her pocket and went into her pictures. Scrolling down a little bit she found the picture she was looking for. It was of her, sticky notes in the form of red hearts stuck to her shirt and a huge cheesy grin plastered to her face. The picture was taken on Valentine's Day of that year when Elizabeth, as a gag gift, bought Aurora those sticky notes. Naturally, Aurora decided to decorate herself with them and Elizabeth had to take a picture. Sending the photo to Derek's phone, Aurora wasted little time making it his wallpaper. Next, she sat up on the couch to take a current picture of herself to set as her caller id.

'Poor Derek.' She thought. 'He should have never left me with his phone.'

She took a picture of her blowing a kiss and set it as her caller id and then downloaded the ringtone Derek had picked and set that as well. She put his phone down on the coffee table when she was down and laid back down on the couch. She was resting her eyes when she heard footsteps coming from the other room. Sitting up once more, Aurora was greeted by a tall blonde girl wearing a pretty pink sundress. She had similar facial features to Derek and Aurora could tell they were definitely related.

"You must be the gorgeous girl my brother can't stop talking about." Laura said walking over to Aurora.

Blushing deeply, Aurora stood up from her seat on the couch and held out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Aurora. You must be Laura." She said.

Instead of shaking her hand, Laura threw her arms around Aurora and hugged her tight.

"It's great to meet you Aurora." Laura told her.

"Likewise!" Aurora said happily squeezing her back.

"Where is that brother of mine?" Laura asked releasing Aurora and taking a step back.

"Showering." Aurora stated simply.

"Well, I don't know about you but I'm starving. Would you like to come help me get lunch ready?" Laura asked.

"Sure!" Aurora agreed.

She grabbed Derek's cell phone off the coffee table and put it in her pocket to give to him later. Making sure her own phone was secure; Aurora followed Laura down a hallway from the living room that connected into a huge dining room. The dining room table was adorned with a gorgeous bouquet of multiple types of flowers as it's center piece and could easily has sat twenty people. Walking a bit further, there was a door that opened up to literally the biggest kitchen Aurora had ever seen.

"Wow." Aurora muttered as Laura went straight to the refrigerator.

"Do you like sandwiches?" Laura asked grabbing several different kinds of lunch meats and a couple different kinds of cheese.

"Definitely. A turkey sandwich would be great, if you have it." Aurora smiled taking a seat at the island in the middle of the kitchen.

"Coming right up. What would you like on it?" Laura asked grabbing a loaf of bread from the counter.

"American cheese, onion, and ranch please." Aurora smiled.

"Ranch?" Said a disgusted voice from behind Aurora.

She turned to see Derek entering the kitchen, hair still damp from his shower. Aurora's heart nearly gave out when she noticed that he wasn't wearing a shirt, just a pair of grey sweat pants that clung to his hips.

"Yes, ranch." Aurora said trying not to stare.

"Whatever makes you happy princess." Derek mocked walking over to the island.

"Princess?" Laura questioned.

"Mountain Man insists on calling me that." Aurora joked.

"Mountain Man?" Laura snorted. "I don't even want to know. Hey Der, can you finish making Aurora's sandwich while I go grab some chips from the pantry?"

Derek nodded and Laura disappeared out the door from which they had entered.

"Need any help?" Aurora asked sliding off the stool she was sitting on to walk around to the side of the island where Derek was standing.

"Nah, I'm good." He smiled putting a couple of slices of American cheese on her sandwich.

"Hey! You have a tattoo!" Aurora said discovering the large symbol in thick black ink located between his shoulder blades.

"Very perceptive, Captain Obvious." Derek chuckled.

"Asshole." Aurora said punching him in the kidney. "What is it?"

"It's a triskele. Traditional it represents the sky, the earth, and water." Derek told her.

"What does it represent for you?" Aurora inquired.

Derek fell silent for a moment, all most as if he didn't want to tell her.

"If it's personal, I completely understand. I didn't mean to intrude." Aurora said hoping that Derek knew she didn't mean to offend him.

"No, it's fine." Derek said throwing her a reassuring smirk. "My mother used to wear a necklace with a triskele on it." He explained.

"It's a reminder of her." Aurora said getting close enough to Derek to wrap her arms around his waist, putting her chin on his shoulder. His back was warm against her touch, which suited her just fine because she was freezing.

"Yeah, it is." Derek confirmed.

Aurora had this weird feeling that Derek wasn't telling her the whole story behind his tattoo but she decided to drop it. She figured he would tell her when he was ready.

"Sorry it's so cold in here." He said as Aurora shivered against his body. "My sister and I…"

"Run warmer than most people?" Aurora asked remembering the first night they met.

"Exactly." Derek agreed putting her sandwich on one of the plates Laura had gotten out of the cabinet.

"I'm still not quite sure what that means." She joked letting go of Derek to take her sandwich and go back to her seat at the island.

Derek shrugged.

"You know, I've always wanted a tattoo." Aurora continued taking a bite of her sandwich.

"You? Really?" Derek question as he started to make a sandwich for himself.

"Yeah! Two actually. Since I was thirteen." She said.

"What tattoos? Derek inquired.

"Well, I want my favorite song lyrics on my back, where yours is actually." Aurora told him.

"What song lyrics?" He asked with a smile.

"They are from a song called Lip Glass and Black by Atreyu. There is a part that goes "_Aren't you tired of being weak? Such rage that you could scream all the stars right out of the sky. And destroy the prettiest starry night every evening that I die". _I want those lyrics in really pretty cursive letters between my shoulder blades." She explained.

"I need to listen to this song." Derek said. "And the other?"

"A rose. I want the stem to start at my right hip and the actual flower to be in the middle of my side." She told him, pointing to the exact location on her body.

"Why a rose?" Derek asked between bites of his sandwich.

"It's my middle name." She smiled.

"Aurora Rose. That is so gorgeous." Laura said walking back through the kitchen door holding three bags of chips.

"Thanks!" Aurora beamed.

"So, little brother. How would you like to make your favorite sister a sandwich?" Laura asked putting the chips on the island. She gave Derek puppy dog eyes as she took a seat next to Aurora.

"You are my only sister." Derek grumbled finishing his sandwich.

"Please?" Laura pouted.

"Oh shut up." Derek joked grabbing the bread.

"Nicely played." Aurora teased high fiving Laura.

"Thank you Der!" Laura said sweetly.

"Hey, random question. Where are Isaac and the others?" Aurora asked taking the last bite of her sandwich.

"Isaac went for a run, he should be back any minute. Lydia, Jackson, Erica, and Boyd went on a double date. Lydia text me a couple of minutes ago saying they would be home around three, probably. And Hailey, as far as I know, is upstairs in her room." Laura told her.

"Oh, joy. Hailey is the only one home." Aurora muttered sarcastically under her breath.

Laura gave Derek a look Aurora couldn't quite determine the meaning of but Derek just shook his head.

"When we are done eating we should watch a movie." Laura stated changing the subject.

"Sounds good." Aurora agreed. Hailey was the last thing she wanted to talk about.

**XXXX**

As it turned out, Laura's suggestion of watching a movie was the worst idea ever. Trying to pick a movie between the three of them was like pulling teeth.

"What about The Notebook?" Laura suggested from her seat on the far left side of the big leather couch.

Derek cringed.

"How about I just shoot myself instead?" He said sarcastically.

He and Aurora were sitting in the middle of the couch, Aurora with her feet tucked under her body and left arm around the front of Derek's waist. He snuggled her tight, knowing she was cold, placing his left arm around her, resting his hand on her lower back.

"Let's watch The Avengers!" Aurora said looking up at Derek with a smile.

"I've seen that so many times." He complained.

"So have I! You can never see the Avengers too many times." She told him.

Before Derek could argue Isaac walked through the front door.

"Isaac!" Aurora shouted jumping up to hug him.

"Hey Aurora!" He said squeezing her tight.

"Would you like to watch The Avengers with us?" Aurora asked releasing him.

"Sure! I just need to take a shower really fast." Isaac beamed.

"Great! Chop to it Mr." Laura said.

Isaac did as he was told, sprinting up the stairs. Aurora resumed her place on the couch next to Derek who automatically put his arm back where it had been.

"I guess our debate is over?" Derek teased.

Aurora smiled wide.

**XXXX**

When Isaac came back downstairs he was accompanied by Hailey.

"Awesome." Aurora muttered darkly.

Derek leaned closer to her so that he could whisper in her ear, "Be nice."

Aurora wanted to argue but didn't.

"Hailey wants to watch The Avengers too." Isaac said with an adorable little smile as he sat next to Derek on the couch.

Aurora couldn't stay mad.

"If you don't mind." Hailey said looking straight at Aurora. She didn't seem as hostile as she did the first time Aurora met her.

"Not at all." Aurora told her.

Hailey took a seat next to Isaac so that the couch was full. Derek rubbed small circles on Aurora's lower back, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you." He whispered.

"You know, the others should be here any minute. Should we wait for them?" Laura asked looking at the clock hanging on the far left wall. It read 3:10 p.m.

"We might as well." Derek huffed.

**XXXX**

"Oh, actually Jackson and I were hoping to watch Gossip Girl. I taped it in here because I have too many other things taping on Mondays to record it in our room." Lydia explained.

Jackson cringed at the words "Gossip Girl" but didn't say anything.

"I love that show! I haven't seen last Monday's episode either." Aurora said sweetly smiling at Derek.

"Not no, but hell no." Derek stated flatly.

"Come on Derek!" Erica whined.

Aurora had been introduced to her and her boyfriend Boyd when they arrived back at the house from their double date. She had only known Erica for ten minutes, but Aurora could tell from her low-cut mesh shirt and her leather hot pants that she was a badass.

"I'm dying to know what is happening with Chuck and Blair!" Erica continued.

"They need to be together, like right now." Laura chimed in.

"I want Dan and Serena to get back together already." Hailey added.

"Me too!" Aurora said smiling over at Hailey, who surprisingly smiled back.

"Why do I feel like a just got a shot of estrogen?" Boyd asked making the other boys in the room chuckle.

"You like Gossip Girl, don't you Jacks?" Lydia asked narrowing her eyes at Jackson.

"Let's just watch it guys. There are some pretty hot chicks." Jackson said in a 'just learn to deal with it' voice.

Derek let out an exasperated noise and Lydia clapped her hand in triumph.

"I'm gonna grab a blanket really quick and we can start it." She said as Erica and Boyd sat down on the love seat closed to Laura.

"Oh my gosh! Could you grab me one too?" Aurora pleaded.

"Of course!" Lydia said as she ascended the stairs.

Jackson took the other love seat, sitting down with a sigh.

When Lydia got back to the living room she tossed a blanket at Aurora who grabbed it and immediately wrapped it around her body. Between the warmth of Derek's body and the blanket she was finally able to make her teeth stop chattering. Lydia then picked up the remote on the top of the TV and headed over to Jackson, wrapping the a blanket around herself before snuggling into him.

"We can watch The Avengers afterward." Laura told the room.

"Oh hell yeah!" Jackson said enthusiastically.

**XXXX**

"That was torture." Derek complained when the show ended.

Aurora giggled into his chest.

"You survived! You're so tough." She joked giving him a short kiss on the lips.

"I like that Chuck guy. He's got class. In a conniving, manipulative sort of way." Isaac said.

"I like that Chuck guy too." Hailey added seductively.

"Amen!" Aurora said as Laura and Erica nodded their approval.

"That guy is a dick." Derek argued.

"I'd do him." Hailey said.

Aurora was going to agree but stopped when she saw the murderous look on Derek's face.

"Time for The Avengers!" Jackson shouted jumping up to put in the DVD.

When the movie started, Aurora nuzzled into Derek's chest as he rubbed her back. It was long before her eyelids became heavy.

**XXXX**

Aurora woke up to a silent room. Lifting her head a little bit off of Derek's shoulder, she looked around to see everyone had passed out too. Erica and Boyd were laying on the love seat wrapped in each other's arms, Lydia and Jackson the same way. Laura was slouched over the arm of the couch leaning on her hand. Hailey had curled up into a ball, her back against Isaac. Isaac had leaned to his left and was sound asleep on Derek's should, snoring lightly. Aurora had to bite her tongue to keep from saying 'awww'.

"Hey sleepy head." Derek whispered.

"Hey, did you get any sleep?" Aurora asked groggily.

"No, but it's okay. I watched the movie." He chuckled.

"What time is it?" Aurora asked quietly sitting up to stretch.

"Six fifteen." Derek told her.

"Oh my God! I've got to go!" Aurora said jumping up. "I was supposed to be back at Elizabeth's by six."

"Isaac, wake up buddy." Derek said shaking Isaac softly.

Isaac's eyes fluttered up.

"What's wrong?" He muttered.

"Nothing bud, I just have to get up." Derek reassured him with a ruffle of his hair. "Why don't you go get in bed."

"Okay." Isaac smiled. "I think that run wore me out."

"Bye Isaac." Aurora said taking a break from her panic to hug him.

"Bye Aurora, see you later." Isaac told her sleepily.

When Isaac started to make his way up the stairs, Aurora and Derek headed out to her car. The sun was going down and a shadow started to creep over the woods.

"I'll see you later." Aurora told Derek wrapping her arms around him.

"You can tell me goodbye when we get to the camp site." He laughed but returned the hug.

"What? I'm not letting you walk back here in the dark." Aurora protested.

"Aurora, I'll be find. Do you remember what I was doing the first night we met?" Derek chucked.

"Derek! There are wolves out there." Aurora said pointing to the ominous woods. "And trust me when I tell you from personal experience, not all of them are as friendly as Silky."

Derek made a face but didn't comment.

"Do you really want to drive back by yourself in the dark?" He questioned.

Aurora let out a long sigh.

"No. Promise me you will text me as soon as you get back." She said.

"I promise as long as you promise to text me when you get back to Liz's." Derek said walking over to the passenger's side of her car.

"Deal." Aurora agreed getting in the car and starting it. "Oh! Speaking of texting. Here is your phone." She said handing Derek his cell.

"RED HEARTS?!" He shouted looking at his wallpaper.

"You like it. Shut up." Aurora teased. She decided to check her phone before they left and didn't like what she found.

"Oh no. I have two missed call and a text from Elizabeth." Aurora said in horror.

She opened the text.

**To:** A

**From:** Lizzie

_Where the HELL are you?! My parents told me to tell you dinner is almost ready. I lied and said you were almost done with your project. GET HERE NOW!_

"Oh Lord. Elizabeth is going to murder me." Aurora said putting her car in drive.

**XXXX**

Aurora got to the camp site in record-breaking time.

"I'll see you later Mario Andretti." Derek teased.

"Don't forget to text me." She said smiling over at him.

"Got it." He said.

After giving Derek a quick kiss goodbye, Aurora made her way to Elizabeth's house. She decided she should call her best friend to assess the damage. Elizabeth answered after one ring.

"Please tell me you are walking up the front steps." Elizabeth seethed.

"Not quite. I'm driving to your house as we speak." Aurora said apologetically.

"Aurora! We had a deal! No later than six, remember? It's a quarter till seven!" Elizabeth yelled.

"I'm so sorry Lizzie! I fell asleep." Aurora explained.

"I'm going to strangle you when you get here." Elizabeth threaten, but Aurora never heard it.

"OH MY GOD!" Aurora yelled swerving to the right before slamming on her breaks.

"Aurora! What happened? Aurora!" Elizabeth shouted through the phone Aurora had drop on the floorboard.

"Jesus Christ." Aurora said between taking large gasps of breath. "Lizzie? You still there?" She asked picking up her phone before pulling her car over to the side of the road.

"Yes! What just happened?!" Elizabeth asked in concerned.

"I don't know. Something just ran across the road in front of my car. It came out of nowhere!" Aurora said trying to make her body stop shaking.

"What the hell was it?" Elizabeth inquired.

"I'm really not sure. It was huge and brown. I think it was a…" Aurora trailed off.

"A what?!" Elizabeth asked.

"I think it was a wolf." Aurora told her as she pulled back onto the road.

"What? A wolf in the neighborhood? What is going on these days?" Elizabeth asked in disbelief.

"No idea." Aurora answered in shock. "I'll be there in like five minutes." She said hanging up the phone.

When Aurora got to the Walker's she bolted up to the door and let herself in.

"Aurora, is that you?" She heard Mrs. Walker called.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm so sorry I'm late for dinner." Aurora said entering the kitchen where the Walker's where sitting at the table patiently waiting for her to arrive.

"No problem, sweetheart. Elizabeth told us you had trouble with your project." Mr. Walked said as Aurora sat down.

"Yeah. Dylan wasn't any help so I basically had to do it all on my own." Aurora told him, which really wouldn't have been a lie if she had to do a project with her ex.

"That boy has never been the brightest bulb in the box." The sheriff teased.

Aurora smiled weakly, still reeling from her near accident.

"Did you at least finish your project?" Elizabeth asked to make their story seem legit.

"Yeah, thank goodness." Aurora said fixing herself a plate.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	11. Chapter 11

_Author's note: Hey everyone! :) Hope you all are still enjoying the story. I just wanted to let you guys know this chapter might contain a lot of errors cause I've got a bit of a cold and I was having trouble concentrating while proof reading. I'm sorry! _

_ENJOY!_

After dinner the girls went up to Elizabeth's room and Aurora got an ear full.

"You owe me so big." Elizabeth said between clenched teeth as she shut her bedroom door. "I hope you know how much I wanted to throttle you at six when my parents were wondering where you were and all I had was a dumb look on my face and no explanation!"

"I know! I'm sorry!" Aurora agreed hanging her head.

"Did you at least have a good time with stranger danger? I mean when you weren't passed out." Elizabeth said more calmly. "Why did you fall sleep? Stranger danger THAT boring?"

"Shut up! No, we were watching a movie and I just ended up passing out. I had a great time though. His sister is really cool. And I absolutely love his roommates." Aurora smiled.

"His roommates? So there is a whole clan of backwoods dwelling people? Good to know." Elizabeth said sarcastically.

"Elizabeth Dawn Walker. It scares me sometimes how much we think alike." Aurora laughed.

"You know what they say, great minds think alike." Elizabeth joked.

"Derek would have a conniption fit if he could hear this conversation." Aurora teased.

'Oh shit! Speaking of Derek, I forgot to text him.' She thought getting out her phone to do just that.

**To: Mountain Man**

**From: Princess**

_Hey! I'm back at Elizabeth's. Sorry it took so long for me to text you, we were having dinner._

Derek responded within a couple of minutes.

**To: Princess**

**From: Mountain Man**

_No worries. Just got back. I see Elizabeth didn't commit homicide._

**To: Mountain Man**

**From: Princess**

_Lol Nope. It's not cause she doesn't want to. She just figures her dad might notice the dead body in his house, you know, with him being the sheriff and all. P.S. You are a ninja! Remind me never to try and race you, okay?_

**To: Princess**

**From: Mountain Man**

_Lucky for you. ;) Can I see you tomorrow after school? P.S. I will definitely remind you that trying to race me would be embarrassing for you and extremely hilarious to me._

**To: Mountain Man **

**From: Princess**

_Of course. :D Camp site? P.S. You're a douche._

**To: Princess**

**From: Mountain Man**

_Yes ma'am. Well, I'm gonna grab a shower. See you tomorrow princess. P.S. and you love it._

**To: Mountain Man**

**From: Princess**

_Night Der! P.S. Unfortunately. ;P_

**To: Princess**

**From: Mountain Man**

_Good night Aurora. Sweet dreams. P.S. I'm really thankful that you do._

"Is that stranger danger?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Aurora questioned looking up from her phone.

"The goofy ass grin on your face is a dead giveaway." Elizabeth joked.

"Shut up." Aurora said sticking her tongue out.

"We should do some homework." Elizabeth told her reluctantly.

Aurora nodded grabbing her bag from the floor.

**XXXX**

***7:00 a.m. Monday morning***

Aurora woke up terrified from another nightmare.

"You okay, A?" Elizabeth asked looking over at her best friend. Elizabeth had woken up before Aurora and was fully dressed gathering her things for school when Aurora had called out in her sleep.

"Fine. Just a bad dream. What time is it?" Aurora asked rubbing her eyes.

"Seven. Plenty of time for you to shower and eat before we have to go." Elizabeth smiled.

"Meet you downstairs in a bit." Aurora told her getting up to shower.

"Okie dokie." Elizabeth said throwing her backpack over her shoulder as she headed out the door.

Aurora took a quick shower, got dressed and was downstairs within twenty minutes. She grabbed some toast then her and Elizabeth left for school.

"You know I was thinking, we should probably tell my dad about the wolf you saw last night. If its brave enough to come into the neighborhood, it might be brazen enough to attack a human." Elizabeth said to Aurora when they got in Aurora's car.

"You're right. I'll tell him this afternoon." Aurora said.

For the rest of the car ride Elizabeth and Aurora talked about school and the upcoming Honor Society dance that was taking place not that Friday but the next.

"Are you going to ask stranger danger to go with you to the dance?" Elizabeth asked as they arrived at school.

"Definitely." Aurora smiled. "What about you, my lovely best friend, who are you gonna ask to go with you?"

"I was thinking Paul." Elizabeth told her as they walked into homeroom.

"Paul?! As in your lab partner Paul? As in totally cute and ridiculously sweet Paul that your best friend has been telling you to date for months? That Paul?" Aurora mocked.

"Yes, that Paul. No stop gloating." Elizabeth said.

**XXXX**

The day went by terribly slow. Aurora nearly fell asleep in last period, the final bell scaring her out of her daze. She walked to her car with a little more pep in her step when she remembered she was going to see Derek. Aurora had told Elizabeth at lunch about her plans and offered to take her home before she went to the camp site but she just rolled her eyes and asked Ethan to give her a ride. When she got to the site Derek was waiting on her, as usual.

"Hey princess." Derek said when Aurora launched herself into his arms; her only reply was a passionate kiss.

"I missed you too." He smiled when Aurora stopped to catch her breath.

"I can't stay long." Aurora said sadly. "I've got tons of homework."

"That's alright. I need to get to work." Derek confessed.

"I don't want to go though." Aurora told him as he buried his face in her neck.

"Me either. But we will see each other this weekend, right? You're coming over so we can watch that Supernatural show, aren't you?" Derek asked with a smile.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Mountain Man." Aurora beamed. "Oh, and while I'm thinking about it, maybe we could take a little adventure into the woods to look for Silky this weekend as well? I haven't seen him in forever." She asked frowning deeply.

She had been so caught up with Derek, her friends, and school she had totally neglected Silky and it broke her heart.

"Aurora, I'm sure he is fine. He's probably moved on by now." Derek told her.

"How could you say that? Silky wouldn't leave. He's probably devastated that I haven't come to see him in so long." Aurora scolded.

Derek rolled his eyes.

"Fine." He huffed.

With one last kiss Aurora said goodbye to Derek and went back to Elizabeth's.

She was walking in the front door when her phone rang.

**Aurora:** Hi momma!

**Mrs. Montgomery:** Hello my sweet girl. How have you been? I've missed you so much!

**Aurora:** I've been good momma. Just got to Elizabeth's from school.

**Mrs. Montgomery:** Are you sure you're all right? Mr. Walker told me happened. I've been worried sick. I'm so sorry I haven't called you before now, you're father and I have been swamped. Thankfully we were able to get an earlier flight so we will be home in a couple of hours.

**Aurora:** I'm fine momma. The Walkers have been taking good care of me. I wasn't hurt, just freaked out. I can't wait to see you guys!

**Mrs. Montgomery:** I can't wait to see you either. I've miss you and your brother terribly. Well, they are calling our flight number. See you soon Aurora. I love you.

**Aurora:** Have a safe flight momma! I love you too!

When Aurora hung up the phone she was overwhelmed with joy. She couldn't wait to see her parents and sleep in her own bed.

"Aurora?" Elizabeth called coming down the stairs.

"Hey! My mom and dad are gonna be home early!" Aurora told her cheerfully.

"That's great!" Elizabeth said. "I bet you've missed them."

"So much. And that little brat I call my brother…but don't tell him I said that." Aurora teased.

"I was just about to grab something to drink and then start on some homework, you joining?" Elizabeth asked.

"Sounds like a party. I'm in." Aurora joked.

Time went by in a flash and two hours later the girls were still working on school work. Aurora had just finished reading a chapter of her English book that was assigned when she got a text from her mom saying that she and her dad were home.

"My parents are back. I'm gonna head out." Aurora told Elizabeth who was writing a paper for her Economy class.

"Okay bestie. I'll see you tomorrow." Elizabeth said getting up to hug Aurora.

"Thanks for everything Lizzie. You are the best friend a girl could have." Aurora told her hugging her tight.

"Right back at you A." Elizabeth said.

Aurora left Elizabeth's in such a hurry, she forgot to tell the sheriff about the wolf she had encountered the night before.

**XXXX**

"I missed you guys so much!" Aurora shouted as she plopped down on the couch in her living room between her parents.

They were watching TV when Aurora got home.

"We missed you to darlin'." Her dad told her.

"Mom! Dad!" Nathaniel shouted busting through the front door.

"Hey there son!" Mr. Montgomery said as Nathaniel joined them on the couch.

"Oh look at my family!" Mrs. Montgomery gushed.

"Did you guys have a good time?" Nathaniel asked his parents.

"As good of a time as you can have while working." Mr. Montgomery joked.

After watching a little bit of TV and telling their children about their trip, Mrs. Montgomery decided it was time to cook dinner. Mr. Montgomery helped Nathaniel with his math homework he had forgotten about while Aurora set the table. Within an hour they all sat down as a family to eat. Aurora was so happy. All of her stress melted away and for once since the past couple of days she wasn't thinking about the break in or the strange things that had happened.

"I think your mother and I are going to go to bed early tonight. That flight was brutal." Mr. Montgomery told his children after they had all pitched in to clean up the kitchen.

"I'm think I'm gonna do the same." Nathaniel added making all of their jaws drop. "What? Ben and I stayed up all night Saturday and really late Sunday night." He confessed getting dirty looks from his parents.

"I still have some homework to do." Aurora said.

"Well, we'll see you in the morning." Mrs. Montgomery told Nathaniel and Aurora hugging them individually. Mr. Montgomery took his turn hugging his children then he and his wife went upstairs to bed.

"Good night, brat!" Aurora called to Nathaniel as she sat down in the living room to finish her homework.

"Night Sis!" He called as he ran up the stairs.

**XXXX**

It was eleven before Aurora knew it. She finally finished all of the reading she was behind on. Putting her books back in her backpack, she stood to make her way upstairs when she heard a loud sound from outside.

It was a howl.

Aurora stopped dead in her tracks. Walking over to the front door, she looked out the peep hole cautiously.

"Silky?!" She shouted as she threw the door open and dashed toward him.

The wolf was sitting at the bottom of her porch steps looking at her curiously.

"Oh my gosh! What are you doing her buddy? How did you even find me?" Aurora asked grabbing his face and nuzzling it to her own.

The wolf responded by licking her cheek.

"I've missed you so much! I'm so sorry I haven't come to see you. I've been busy." She said scratching between his ears as she sat down on the bottom step.

Silky put his head on her lap and whimpered.

"Aw, buddy! You aren't upset with me are you?" Aurora asked sadly.

The wolf huffed.

"I'll make it up to you, promise." She reassured him.

"Aurora? Sis, are you okay? I heard yelling." Nathaniel asked appearing at the front door.

Aurora jumped up in surprise.

"I'm all good little bro. I was just talking to Silky." Aurora said motioning to where she thought the wolf was sitting.

"Silky? What is a Silky? And aren't you a little old for imaginary friends?" Nathaniel teased looking from his sister to the empty spot where she was pointing.

"Where'd he go?" Aurora asked looking around but there was no sign of the wolf anywhere.

"Was it a stray dog? You know dad won't let you keep it. Now come back inside before you freeze." Nathaniel said.

Aurora did as she was told and decided to let Nathaniel think it was a stray dog she was talking to, considering he had already thought she was crazy for doing that.

"Try and get some sleep Sis. I'll see you in the morning." Nathaniel told her once they both got upstairs.

"Night baby brother." Aurora said as they parted ways into their rooms.

It took Aurora a while to fall asleep but when she did it was restful. Seeing Silky probably had something to do with that.

**XXXX**

The rest week was torturous. Aurora were extremely busy with the Honors program and large amounts of homework. Her situation wasn't improved any be the reoccurring nightmare she was having every night, except for the night of Silky's surprise visit. Plus, because she was so bogged down with school work she had no time to talk to Derek let alone see him. The arrival of Friday wasn't even a relief for Aurora because she had to stay late after school to attend a meeting for Honor Society. After that, she had to spend an agonizing hour and a half with Dylan trying to explain their chemistry homework to him. Next she had to pick Nathaniel up from soccer practice, drop him off at home, and then go to the store. To make matters worse, when she got there, she ran into Alex.

"Aurora, isn't that your name?" Alex asked walking up to her. She was in the cereal aisle getting some Coco Puffs for her brother when he showed up.

"Yeah. It's Alex? Right?" She asked putting the cereal in her cart.

"That's me. How are you?" He inquired.

"Just fine. You?" She asked trying to be polite.

"Ditto. So, where's Derek? Is he here with you?" Alex asked out of the blue.

Aurora was starting to feel uncomfortable.

"He's around here somewhere." She lied hoping that the thought of Derek's presence would make him go away.

"We both know that was a lie." Alex stated flatly stepping closer to Aurora.

"No, it wasn't. I suggest you leave before he gets back. You don't seem to be his favorite person." Aurora threatened trying to sound convincing.

Alex wasn't having any part of it.

"Oh Aurora. I can tell you are lying." He told her.

"And how's that?" Aurora asked defiantly.

"I can hear your heart beat quickening." He told her softly.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Aurora asked as she began to walk down the aisle.

She needed to get away from this creep.

"Hey, don't walk away from me." Alex warned grabbing her left arm tight enough to make Aurora cry out in pain.

"Let. Me. Go." Aurora seethed.

"Is there a problem here, ma'am?" Asked a man dressed in uniform walking up to them.

It was an employee of the store.

"No problem." Alex said sweetly.

"I was talking to the lady." The employee said gruffly.

"No, everything is fine. He was just leaving." Aurora replied giving Alex the dirtiest look she could muster.

"Of course." Alex said putting his hands up and backing away. "I'll see you later Aurora." He said slyly then disappeared around the corner of the aisle.

Aurora smiled over at the man who had helped her and noticed his name tag.

"Thank you, Charles." She said.

"Not a problem ma'am. If you don't mind, I would like to walk you to your car when you are done shopping." He told her.

"I don't mind at all, that is very kind of you." Aurora said with one last smile for him before she continued shopping.

Aurora's brain was buzzing. She was torn on whether or not to call Derek right then and there. Or should she even tell him? Aurora didn't want Derek to do anything irrational. Alex was a creep, but Aurora didn't want Derek to get in trouble for hurting him. She knew Derek would hurt Alex if he found out he had put a hand on her. So she decided to let it go. Aurora would just ignore Alex completely if she ever saw him in public again. She should have never even talked to him in the first place. When Aurora was done shopping and all checked out, Charles did as he said he would do and walked her to her car.

"Thanks again Charles." Aurora said getting in the driver's seat.

"No problem, ma'am. Just wanted to make sure you were safe." He said with a smile heading back to the store.

Aurora locked her doors and put her car in drive. She was on edge the whole way home.


	12. Chapter 12

_Author's note: MERRY CHRISTMAS!_

_Hey! :D I just want to thank everyone again for reading my story. You guys are so great and I'm ridiculously excited that you like it! Thank you all for the reviews and kind words! You guys rock!_

_p.s. If you have no knowledge of the show Supernatural I apologize for any confusion you might have during a small part of this chapter because of the references to the show. _

_I apologize for any errors. I'm still not feeling the best and proof reading with a headache is the worst. :( SORRY!_

_ENJOY!_

***10:00 a.m. Saturday morning***

"_I wanna wear my hair wild in a mess_

_Cut-off jeans, can you get with that?_

_Give you some like you've never had_

'_Cause I only wanna to be wanted by you"_

Aurora woke up to a call from Derek.

She rolled over in her bed to grab her phone that was on the side table and answered it sleepily.

**Aurora:** Hey Der.

**Derek:** Did I wake you up, gorgeous?

**Aurora:** Yeah, but it's okay. I need to get up anyway.

**Derek:** Are we still watching that show today?

**Aurora:** Absolutely. I'll be at the camp site in like an hour. I can't wait to see you.

**Derek:** I can't wait to see you either. Bye princess.

**Aurora:** Later Mountain Man.

After she hung up with Derek, Aurora begrudgingly got herself out of bed, grabbed an outfit to wear and headed to the bathroom.

Exhaustion was starting to set in.

Aurora hadn't had a good night's sleep in at least a week. Every time she closed her eyes she was in the woods, running her life. She had no idea why these nightmares were happening, but Aurora was seriously starting to worry about it.

Getting in the shower, she washed her hair quickly. Aurora knew that she wouldn't have all day with Derek like she did last Sunday due to her parents being home. Stepping out of the shower, Aurora wrapped a towel around her and went over to the bathroom sink to brush her teeth. Looking in the mirror she noticed there was a large mark on her left arm.

'That bastard!' Aurora thought.

There was a hand shaped bruise circled around her bicep from where Alex had grabbed her the day before. She silently thanked God that it was winter and she could wear a long sleeve shirt to cover it up. A shudder ran through her body when she thought about Derek finding out. Aurora tried to erase the thought from her mind, brushing her teeth speedily. She got dressed and headed back to her room to get season one of Supernatural. Putting it in her purse, Aurora headed downstairs to grab some breakfast and give her parents a crap excuse about going to Dylan's house to do homework. It was a horrible lie, but she knew her parents wouldn't question anything that had to do with keeping her grades up. She didn't say Elizabeth's house because she knew her parents talked to the Walkers on a regular basis. Aurora was out the door by eleven fifteen and arrived at the camp site by eleven thirty. As always, Derek was waiting on her. Her heart sank when she saw that Derek had a scowl on his face.

"What's wrong Der?" She asked as he got in the car.

"Lydia over heard me talking to Laura about you coming over today. Then she told Isaac who told Erica. And now they all want to join us." Derek complained.

"Oh! You had me worried!" Aurora breathed a sigh of relief as she started to drive. "I thought something was wrong!"

"Something is wrong! I wanted to spend the day with you. Just you." Derek said. "But I don't want to hurt my pac-…their feelings."

"What were you going to say? Were you going to say pack?" She asked skeptically noticing Derek's faulted.

"What? Oh, yeah. It's just an inside joke." Derek said playing it cool.

Aurora eyed him suspiciously.

"We are really close. So we call ourselves a pack." Derek explained but he seemed nervous.

"That's cute!" She said.

Aurora assumed Derek was on edge because he didn't want her to think their inside joke was weird or lame.

"You think?" Derek smiled as he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah! You don't have to be embarrassed that you guys have adorable little inside jokes! Do you know how many stupid things Elizabeth and I say to each other? I wouldn't judge you babe. It's not like you call yourselves Team Super Awesome Forest Dwelling People." Aurora reassured him.

Derek smiled at her fondly.

"Depressing side note, unfortunately I can't stay all day. My parents are back in town so I'll probably have to be home by like three thirty. We will most likely only get through the first disc." She admitted.

"Oh." Derek said in disappointment.

"I know Mountain Man. Believe me, it bums me out too." Aurora frowned. "Switching to a lighter subject how do you feel about dancing? I bet underneath the rugged exterior there is a man who loves to shake his groove thing. Am I right?"

Derek gave her a 'what the fuck' face.

"There is a dance for National Honor Society next Friday and I was wondering…" Aurora began.

"I'm there." Derek said a huge grin of his face.

"Really?! I'm so excited! You'll dance with me, right?" She asked hopefully.

"For you? I'd do anything." Derek said sincerely.

Aurora's hear skipped a beat.

"You're the most amazing boyfriend. Ever." She told him smiling for ear to ear. "I'm going dress shopping tomorrow. I was thinking sky blue? It's my color."

"You'll look fantastic in whatever you pick. Fair warning though, if Lydia finds out you are going shopping she will probably tie herself to your car so she can go with you. That girl has a serious problem when it comes to department stores." Derek said rolling his eyes as they pulled up to his house.

"Oh! Lydia would be the perfect person to take with me! She has amazing fashion sense. Her outfits are freaking gorgeous." Aurora praised as she got out of her car.

"Great. Now you two are going to be shopping buddies. Jackson and I will probably never see you two again, will we? I guess this is goodbye." Derek teased as they walked up to the front door.

"Shut up!" Aurora scolded.

"Aurora!" A chorus of voice shouted when she walked into the living room.

"Hey everybody!" She yelled with a smile.

Aurora looked over to the sitting area to see that everybody was relaxing comfortably in their same spots from last Sunday. Aurora handed Derek disc one of Supernatural to put in the DVD player before walking over to the big leather couch. Looking down at the coffee table, she saw a neatly folded blanket.

"Is this for me Lydia?" Aurora beamed.

"Why yes it is." Lydia smiled back.

"Thanks girl! Quick question, what are you doing tomorrow?" Aurora asked wrapping the blanket around her body.

Derek had made his way over to the couch and she curled up next to him like the last time they sat there.

"No plans. Why?" Lydia replied.

"Would you like to go dress shopping with me?" Aurora inquired.

"Dress shopping? I want to go dress shopping." Laura chimed in.

"Me too!" Erica said lifting her head off of Boyd's chest.

"You're all welcome to come with! That includes you, Hailey." Aurora offered trying to keep up their non-hostile relationship.

"I'd like that." Hailey said with a smirk.

"Count me in! What is the dress for?" Lydia asked completely giddy.

"Derek is taking me to the Honor Society dance next Friday." Aurora told them giving Derek a kiss on the cheek.

"Oh my gosh! My baby brother is going to a dance?!" Laura gushed. "I'm so excited! He never went to any of his high school dances."

"You didn't go to prom?" Aurora asked her voice a mixture of shock and disappointment.

"There was no one I wanted to go with." Derek shrugged.

Aurora shook her head. She couldn't believe that Derek missed out on one of the biggest rites of passage.

"You are going to need a suit!" Laura said excitedly.

Derek rolled his eyes.

"Can I go dress shopping with you?" Isaac asked quietly.

"Absolutely!" Aurora smiled.

"Dear God. Can we watch this show before I grow ovaries? Considering it seems like Isaac already has." Jackson complained.

Isaac gave Jackson a 'go to hell' look. Aurora was almost offended that Isaac was capable of being mean. She had never seen him so much as frown since she met him.

"It will be good to have a guy's opinion. Isaac will be a big help. Cause I know I'm not going to get Derek anywhere near a mall let alone a dress store." Aurora said in Isaac's defense.

"I'm not even going to justify that with a response." Derek said without emotion.

"What time are we going tomorrow? What store?" Lydia inquired.

"I got my prom dress at David's Bridal." Laura offered.

"We can start there. I was thinking two?" Aurora asked.

"Yes! This is going to be so much fun!" Lydia cheered.

"All right. Let's start this show before Jackson smothers himself with a pillow." Laura teased.

Lydia gave Jackson a small kiss on the cheek to apologize. He smiled and pulled her close as Derek pushed play.

Fifteen minutes into the first episode Lydia and Laura scolded Aurora for actually suggesting that they watch something so heartbreaking. Aurora reassured them that it would get better and eventually they would learn to deal with the pain, but they didn't believe her.

"Supernatural equals heartbreak. I probably should have warned you." Aurora teased.

Isaac let out an adorable little laugh every time Dean Winchester made a joke.

"Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole." Aurora mouthed along to the words as Dean said them in the show.

"How many times have you watched this?" Derek asked.

"Honestly? I lost count." Aurora laughed.

"Dean Winchester is hilarious!" Isaac said grinning at Aurora.

"He's my absolute favorite character of all time." Aurora told him.

"He drives a black Chevy and wears a leather jacket. What's not to love?" Derek asked Aurora, a cocky smirk playing on his lips.

Aurora rolled her eyes running her fingers through Derek's hair.

"He's also a sarcastic jerk." Aurora mocked.

Derek gave her a wink which made her giggle.

Unfortunately, they were only able to get through three episodes before Aurora had to leave. After collecting her DVD, Aurora gave everyone hugs and said her goodbyes.

"We will meet you at the mall tomorrow. We can have lunch in the food court." Laura told Aurora.

"You sure you guys don't need a ride?" Aurora asked.

"Nah. I'll just take my baby brother's car." Laura said giving Derek a toothy grin.

Derek looked at his big sister like she had slapped him.

"Bye everybody!" Aurora yelled grabbing Derek's arm and leading him to the front door before he had a mental break down over his Camaro.

"It will only be for a couple of hours Der." Aurora reassured him as they walked out to her car.

"I know. It's fine." Derek said trying to be calm.

Aurora turned and threw her arms around him.

"Thank you. I really can't wait for this dance." Aurora said giving him a kiss on his neck.

Derek put his hands on her shoulders, pushing her back so that he could see her face.

"You're welcome. I wouldn't dream of missing it." He told her as he leaned in to kiss her lips. He ran his hands down Aurora's arms, settling them on her biceps so he could pull her closer. The pressure on her left arm was enough to make her involuntarily wince from pain.

"I'm so sorry Aurora! I didn't mean to hurt you! Was my grip that tight?" Derek apologized letting her go instantly. He nearly jumped back ten feet when he felt her reaction.

"No Derek. Come here. You didn't hurt me." Aurora said taking a step toward him.

Derek looked like he was going to be sick.

"You sure I didn't hurt you? Your whole body tensed." He asked in a miserable voice.

"Derek! It wasn't you. I have a bruise on my arm." She explained trying to stop him from feeling guilty.

"Where did you get a bruise?" Derek asked. His body language had completely altered. He had closed the gap that had been between them and no longer looked wounded. That familiar protective look was on his face and Aurora regretted opening her mouth.

"Just rough housing with my brother." Aurora lied. "And no, you can't beat him up. For one he's a minor and for two I like him with all of his limbs. Plus, he didn't mean it. You and Laura must have play fought back in the day."

"Why are you lying to me?" Derek asked narrowing his eyes. His voice was controlled but terrifying.

"How the hell could you tell? And if you say my heart beat quickened, I swear I will kick you in the balls." Aurora spat.

Derek went crazy.

"Who the fuck said that to you? Aurora, tell me the truth." He said his body visible shaking with rage.

"It was…" Aurora started shifting her gaze from Derek to the ground. "It was that Alex guy. I'm fine though! It's not even a big bruise. He was just being a jackass."

Derek didn't ask for an explanation on how Alex gave her a bruise. He didn't even ask why they were in the same place at the same time. He just took the keys to his Camaro out of the pocket of his jeans and headed to his car which was parked on the other side of Aurora's.

"Derek! What are you doing?!" Aurora yelled running after him.

He had reached the driver's side door when she slid her body in front of it, putting herself between him and the handle.

"I'm going to find him and then I'm going to kill him. That's what I'm doing." Derek seethed.

"Derek! You need to calm down. He's not worth it. You are completely over reacting!" Aurora said putting her hands on his chest.

"That motherfucker put his hands on you." He spat.

"I'm fine! He's just a jerk. Granted, he's a little psychotic but I know that now and I'm not going to talk to him ever again."

Derek made a move to try and push Aurora out of the way but he barely put any force into it.

"You know, if you are trying to forcefully remove me maybe you shouldn't handle me like I'm made of glass." Aurora teased trying to snap Derek out of his rage.

"Why didn't you tell me Aurora?" Derek sighed grabbing her hips and putting his forehead to her's.

"I knew you would go CRAZY. Oh, and look! I was right." Aurora told him running her hands through his hair.

"I just don't want you to get hurt." He said.

"I'm completely fine. Besides, if you hadn't noticed I've got the hook up. Best friend of the sheriff's daughter." She said pointing to herself. "All I have to do is call Mr. Walker and bam! Alex's dumbass is incarcerated."

"If he comes anywhere near you again, you call the sheriff. I don't care if he's twenty feet away from you and I don't care if he doesn't even speak to you. Call the police. And then call me." Derek told her with a kiss to her nose.

"I will. I promise." Aurora said between short little kisses along his jawline.

Derek's body relaxed slightly but Aurora could tell he was still infuriated.

"I know its board daylight, but do you want to drive back with me?" She asked him with a smile.

"Of course." Derek stated simply as they got into Aurora's car.

Derek was in his own head for most of the car ride back to the camp site. Aurora wished she knew what he was thinking, but then again part of her really didn't want to know.

"Oh, did you talk to that Tyler guy about my tattoo?" She asked Derek when she parked at the camp site. Aurora desperately wanted Derek to think of anything but Alex.

"Yeah, he said it wouldn't be a problem. We will have to go in after hours, obviously, but he will do it. He said next Saturday night would be good for him." Derek said. His tone was almost back to normal.

"Great! My parents have a huge international conference in Alabama next weekend. All of the law firms that work with my mother's company from around the world are going to be there. And my dad was put in charge of hosting a banquet. They will be gone from early Saturday morning till Sunday night." Aurora told him cheerfully.

"You'll be home alone?" Derek questioned. His agitation seemed to be coming back.

"Not if you don't want me to be. I'll stay at Lizzie's." Aurora said.

"You can stay at my house." Derek offered shyly.

"I could do that." Aurora agreed making Derek smile from ear to ear.

"Great. That way I won't have a stroke worrying if you are okay or not." Derek told her.

"Let's get serious. I could stub my toe and you would have a stoke." Aurora teased.

"You are fragile princess. I just don't want you breaking on me." Derek joked.

"Listen here Mr. Incredible Hulk Forest Living Exercise Fiend. I'm not as fragile as you think. I can kick some ass." Aurora scolded.

"I truly believe you. I bet you have kicked some ass. And I know you have busted some balls." Derek laughed.

Aurora smiled wide.


	13. Chapter 13

_Author's note: Hello all! Thank you guys for your reviews. :) It makes me so happy to know you all are enjoying the story. Sorry I haven't updated in a couple of days. Christmas/my mom's birthday/ and a cold equals absolutely no time to write. Haha I should be back to normal updates now that everything is calming down. _**XXXX**_ means a jump in time. :)_

_ENJOY_

***2:45 p.m. Sunday afternoon***

"I think this one would look perfect on you." Laura told Aurora holding a long sky blue dress up to her body.

It was strapless and had an empire waist. Glitter mesh covered it making it shine bright.

"I love it!" Aurora exclaimed as she took the dress from Laura and entered the changing room at David's Bridal.

"I think that one is way prettier than the darker blue one." Lydia told Aurora through the closed door.

"I liked the red one." Aurora heard Hailey say from her seat outside of the changing room.

"Oh course you did." Lydia joked. "Because you are one of the few people who can wear that color and not look like a clown."

The girls had been shopping for a good forty minutes before Aurora actually agreed on a dress that was picked out. Coming out of the dressing room, she did a small spin and waited for comments.

"I think you look beautiful." Isaac said with the most adorable little smirk on his face.

"Aw, Isaac. You are too damn cute!" Aurora told him with a smile.

"I like this one the best." Lydia added.

Laura, Erica, and Hailey nodded their approval.

"This one it is! Wow. That did not take as long as I expected. Do you all want to grab something to eat?" Aurora asked heading back into the dressing room to change out of the dress.

"Good lord yes. I'm starving!" Laura said.

"Absolutely." Lydia chirped.

A few moments later Aurora emerged from the changing room dressed in her normal clothes. The whole group walked with her up to the checkout counter.

Aurora paid for the dress and they all walked over to the food court in the mall. Isaac volunteered to take Aurora's dress out to her car so it wouldn't get damaged.

"You are such a sweetheart!" Aurora called after him as he headed out to the parking lot through the glass doors located near the food court.

"Isn't he though?" Laura asked sitting down at one of the tables.

"What should we eat?" Lydia inquired as Erica, Hailey and her joined Laura and Aurora at the table.

"It probably wouldn't hurt for you to skip a meal, Lydia. I'm sure Jackson wouldn't want you to get any chubbier." Said a short, slender girl as she walked up to their table.

She had raven black hair and emerald green eyes. If Aurora had to guess she would have peg her at eighteen or nineteen years old. The girl would have been absolutely gorgeous if it wasn't for the hateful look on her face. Aurora noticed quickly that she was accompanied by two boys roughly her age. One stood on her left, the other her right. They almost looked like bodyguards. The boy on her left was blonde with chilling blue eyes. He was probably somewhere around six feet tall and was dressed well. The boy on her right was the exact opposite of the blonde with dark brown hair and even darker brown eyes. He was a couple of inches shorter than the other boy and was dressed in a plain white shirt with tattered jeans.

"Oh Tara, what makes you think you know the first thing about what Jackson wants?" Lydia asked snidely giving the girl a sickly sweet smile.

'If that smile isn't the definition of killing someone with kindness, I don't know what is.' Aurora thought with a small smirk.

Tara, as Lydia had called her, scowled but ignored her question.

"And who's this pretty little thing?" The blonde boy interjected staring straight at Aurora.

Aurora narrowed her eyes and frowned.

"Oh, let me guess." Tara crooned turning her attention from Lydia to Aurora. "I bet this oblivious precious little thing belongs to Derek?" She asked with malice dripping off every word.

The rebellious part of Aurora wanted to say "Fuck you bitch. I don't belong to anyone." But it was a different part of Aurora who answered. A part that she wasn't quite ready to admit she had.

"That's right. I'm Derek's girl. And you are?" Aurora spat in the bitchiest tone she could produce.

Laura gave her a "who the hell are you right now?" look but her lips were curled up a little as if she was fighting a smile.

"I'm Alex's girl." Tara said almost like a threat.

"Alex? As in the guy that works with Derek?" Aurora asked a shiver running down her spine. It was bad enough she had to deal with Alex being a weirdo, she really didn't want to deal with his bitchy girlfriend too.

"Is that what Derek told you?" Tara laughed.

"What? They don't work together?" Aurora inquired feeling a little embarrassed.

"Back off Tara." Hailey jumped in.

She had been sitting in her seat quietly staring daggers at the blonde boy to Tara's left when she took offense to her allegation.

"Calm down Hails. Don't you think it's only fair that the adorable little human knows the truth?" The blonde boy asked giving Hailey a charismatic grin.

"Don't call me that, Randal." Hailey chastised. Her eyes flashed an even brighter golden brown than usual.

"Human? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Aurora asked ignoring the confrontation unfolding before her. She was extremely confused.

Laura, Lydia, Hailey and Erica all shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

"Why don't you explain Lydia? Human to human." The brown haired boy suddenly said.

His voice was low and precise. Aurora couldn't help but be irked by his presence.

"That's enough Arthur." Aurora heard Isaac growl.

He had returned from putting her dress in the car and was now standing face to face with the brown haired boy. They both looked like they were going to start throwing punches any minute.

"Easy Isaac. You don't want to get hurt trying to earn ass kissing points by defending Derek's mate." Randal laughed as Tara pulled Arthur back.

"Okay, I think I get it now." Aurora stated.

All eyes turned to her.

"Y'all are aliens." She teased gesturing to Randal, Arthur, and Tara. "That would explain the ridiculously awkward terms, the reason you keep calling me "human," and it would definitely make sense in Alex's case because he's freaking creepy."

Tara gave Aurora a murderous look.

For a split second Aurora could have sworn her eyes flashed light blue.

"Watch your tongue." Tara threatened taking a step forward.

"Tara. Don't you dare." Laura seethed jumping up from the table.

Erica and Hailey copied her, walking over to stand by her side. Lydia had grabbed Aurora's hand and pulled her out of her seat to stand near Isaac who put a protective arm around both of them.

"How about we don't cause a huge scene in the middle of the food court?" Randal asked in a low tone looking around to see at least a dozen people looking over at what was transpiring.

"Yeah, Tara. For once in his life Randy has a good idea." Hailey said sarcastically.

"I miss you too baby." Randal teased making Hailey roll her eyes.

"This isn't over Hale." Tara growled deciding to back off because of all the unwanted attention their quarrel was receiving.

"Whatever you say." Laura said sarcastically as Randal, Arthur, and Tara walked away.

They three of them disappeared into the main part of the mall when Aurora decided she wanted answers.

"Three things." She said as they all took their seats around the table once more, Isaac taking the empty chair between Hailey and Lydia. "One, human? What the fuck. Two? Derek and Alex don't work together? Three, mate?"

There was silence.

After a while Isaac looked down at the table. Erica and Hailey were eyeing Laura for guidance. And in typical Lydia fashion the strawberry blonde was acting as if she was oblivious, giving Aurora an "I have no idea what you are talking about" look.

"I'm not quite sure what the hell those idiots were talking about." Laura said finally.

"Arthur said Lydia and I were human. Implying that you guys are what? Flying squirrels?" Aurora joked.

"Honestly, I have no idea." Laura laughed uncomfortably. "Crazy follows crazy. And Alex is the ringleader."

"Oh my God. Tell me about it. Good to know he hangs out with his own kind." Aurora teased.

"Derek and Alex used to work together. But Alex ended up quitting because he and Derek loath each other." Laura told Aurora obviously trying to switch subjects.

"Why do they hate each other so much?" Aurora asked curiously. "Aside from the fact that Alex is lunatic."

"Their personalities clash. You know when you meet someone and you just can't stand them, but you don't really have a reason why? That's Derek and Alex. Plus, they both… like to be the one in charge so to speak..." Laura said trying to find the right words. "Both of them wanting to be the authority figure was causing trouble at the shop."

"There can only be one alpha male." Aurora joked.

Isaac snorted in laughter.

"You have no idea how right you are Aurora." Laura giggled

"And the whole mate thing?" Aurora inquired.

"Mate, it's the equivalent to boyfriend or girlfriend." Isaac explained.

Laura nodded her encouragement which gave him confidence to continue.

"Yeah, it's just another way of saying significant other." Isaac told Aurora with a smile.

"Oh. I've just never heard anyone use that term before." Aurora said with a shrug.

"Can we stop talking about those losers and get something to eat?" Lydia asked impatiently.

"Please!" Hailey chimed in.

"One more thing." Aurora said making eye contact with Hailey. "Why did _Randal _call you baby?" She asked coyly.

"Because he was trying to make me puke." Hailey teased evading the question.

Aurora raised an eyebrow.

"Oh fine. He was my boyfriend." Hailey huffed. "When I was young. And stupid."

"Whoa whoa whoa. You used to hang out in crazy ville?" Aurora teased.

"Shut up." Hailey joked getting up to buy food.

Aurora giggled joining everyone as they made their way over to Panda Express.

She decided to let the creepy comments that Tara, Randal, and Arthur had made go. Aurora could tell that they had fallen out of the crazy tree and hit every crazy branch on the way down.

But still, there was just something not right about the whole encounter. Aurora was determined to just overlook what had happened even though her gut told her there was way more going on.

**XXXX**

When Aurora got home she went straight up to her room to put her dress away. Hanging it in the closet she decided to call Derek and tell him about her day. Even though she was sure either Laura, Isaac, Lydia, Erica or Hailey had probably already given him the down low she just wanted to talk to her boyfriend. Aurora pulled her phone out of her purse and scrolled through her contacts until she came to Derek's number. Sitting on her bed she hit send and waited for him to pick up.

"Hey princess." Derek answered fondly.

"Hey handsome!" Aurora cooed.

**Derek: **I heard you found a dress.

**Aurora:** I did. Who told you? Lydia? Isaac?

"All of the above." Derek chuckled

"Figured." Aurora smiled.

**Derek:** Laura said it's perfect. I can't wait to see you in it.

**Aurora: **I can't wait to see you in a suit Mountain Man.

"I also heard that you met Alex's crazy girlfriend." Derek said darkly.

"Everything is fine. Your sister was prepared to go to war for me." Aurora teased. "It must run in the family."

"My sister knows that if anything were to happen to you I wouldn't be able to recover." Derek said sadly.

"Der. Nothing is going to happen to me! You aren't going to lose me." Aurora told him.

Her voice was completely serious.

"Promise me?" Derek asked.

Aurora nearly cried hearing the strain in his voice.

"I promise Derek. I'm yours." She reassured him.

Derek let out a sigh of relief.

"And I'm yours, princess." He said and Aurora knew he was smiling.

"Aurora! Are you home sweetheart?" Mrs. Montgomery called from the stairs.

**Aurora:** Hey, I have to go. My mom is calling me. I'll talk to you soon.

**Derek:** Bye gorgeous.

**Aurora:** Later babe!

"I'm here momma!" Aurora shouted hanging up her cell.

"Did you find a dress?" Her mom asked opening her bedroom door.

"Yes ma'am." Aurora told her getting up to get the dress from her closet.

"Oh! That is perfect. You are going to look amazing in that." Mrs. Montgomery gushed as Aurora held the dress up to her body.

"Thanks momma." Aurora blushed.

"Do you have a date for the dance?" Mrs. Montgomery asked sitting at the foot of Aurora's bed.

'Yeah, this gorgeous guy who I met in the woods. Oh, and he's two years older than me.' Aurora thought sarcastically.

"No ma'am. It's alright though. I've got Lizzie. Third wheel for the win!" Aurora joked.

She hated lying to her mom.

"Oh, I'm sorry darling. I'm sure you will have a great time with Elizabeth though." Mrs. Montgomery smiled.

"I know I will." Aurora smiled back.


	14. Chapter 14

***7:00 a.m. Monday morning***

When she woke up Monday morning, Aurora felt terrible. She figured she had caught the flu from her frequent adventures into woods in the middle of winter. And Derek's igloo of a home probably didn't help. She made a mental note to give Mountain Man crap the next time she saw him.

Unfortunately, Aurora couldn't stay home from school because she had a science test that day. Dragging herself out of bed, Aurora put on the most comfortable thing she could find; a pair of black sweat pants and a long sleeve white shirt with her favorite hoodie which was black with white lettering on it that read Georgia Tech. It had been her mom's but Aurora had asked to borrow it so many times, Mrs. Montgomery finally caved and just gave it to her. When she got down stairs she found Nathaniel in the kitchen, toasting some pop tarts.

"Aye! You look like sh-"

"Don't even think about finishing that sentence, brat." Aurora warned her voice raspy. "Where are mom and dad?"

"Mom had to be in court early this morning and dad had a meeting. So, I'm going to need you to take me to school." Nathaniel told her apologetically as he sat down to eat his breakfast. "Do you want me to fix you some tea?" He asked giving his sister a sympathetic look.

"Little brother, I would love that." Aurora said taking a seat at the table. "Eat your breakfast first though."

"Want one?" Nathaniel asked offering his sister a pop tart.

"No thanks." Aurora smiled weakly, the thought of food made her want to gag.

"I'm gonna make you that tea now. I don't mind cold pop tarts." Nathaniel said as he stuffed the remaining bit of the first pastry in his mouth.

"Thanks kid." Aurora said laying her head on the table.

***8 a.m. Monday morning***

When Aurora got to homeroom, her head hurt so bad she thought it was going to explode.

"Oh, wow. You look…" Elizabeth began, cringing at the sight of her best friend.

"I know, I know. I look terrible. I feel worse." Aurora whined.

"I'm sorry bestie!" Elizabeth said sadly.

"It's all good. I just have to make it through the day without dying and I can go home to pass out." Aurora told Elizabeth trying to tough it out as best she could. "Plus, today is my only test of the week. So if I still feel like crap tomorrow, I can stay home."

"You look like you need to sleep for a week." Elizabeth said keeping her distance. "Don't give me the plague!" she joked.

"I am so gonna cough of your math textbook for that comment." Aurora teased.

Elizabeth grabbed her bag with her textbooks and made an appalled face.

***2:30 p.m. afternoon***

When the final bell rang, Aurora got up from her seat sluggishly and headed to her car. Before she put the keys in the ignition, Aurora grabbed her cell phone and called Derek. After four or five rings Aurora got his voicemail.

"Hey Der, and no I didn't swallow sandpaper, I have a cold. Listen, I know this is really selfish of me but you have no idea how bad I need a hug right now. So if you don't mind being exposed to whatever the hell I have I would really like to see you. You know what, I'm gonna head to the camp site now, hopefully I will catch you there, I'll wait about ten minutes. If not, I'll see you later."

When Aurora finished leaving her message she started the car. It didn't take her long before she was parked in her same spot at the camp site near the base of the woods. There was no sign of Derek. Aurora waited patiently, hoping he would get her message soon. After turning off her car, Aurora reached for her cell phone that she had laid on the passenger's seat. She was going to call Derek again when somebody knocked on her window. Aurora jumped at the sound as she whipped her head around to see Alex motioning for her to roll down her window. Aurora's heart leaped up into her throat. Why was he even here?

"What are you doing out here all alone, gorgeous." He asked when Aurora put her window down all the way.

"I was just hoping to find Derek." She told him.

"You don't sound well." Alex observed.

"I think I have the flu. Have you seen Derek?" Aurora asked. She was really not in the mood for small talk.

"I think he is over at the sheriff's station. I heard someone vandalized his property." Alex said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Oh, that's terrible." Aurora said starting to feel that familiar uncomfortable vibe she always got in Alex's presence. "Well I'll just talk to him later then."

"I could walk you over there. The sheriff's station isn't fair." Alex said with a smile.

"Actually, it is. It's about five miles up the road. The sheriff is my best friend's dad." Aurora told him narrowing her eyes.

"Oh, really? My bad. I didn't think it was that far." Alex apologized but Aurora knew it wasn't sincere.

"Is something wrong Aurora, you look upset." Alex asked leaning farther into Aurora's window.

"I need to go." Aurora said reaching to roll up her window when Alex grabbed her arm.

"Get out of the car." He ordered.

"Let go me!" Aurora yelled trying to fight out of Alex's grip but it was no use.

"Get out of the car or I'll drag you out." Alex growled, his eyes flashing a deep shade of red.

Aurora's jaw dropped.

Alex let go of her arm briefly as she opened the door. Before she could do what Alex had commanded her to do on her own, she was yanked out of the car.

"What the hell do you want?!" Aurora yelled trying to wiggle free for his grasp. It was in vain however, because Alex had pinned her between his body and the back door of the driver's side of her car.

"I want Derek to know that I'm the only alpha in this territory and that if he doesn't submit I'm not afraid to go after his mate." Alex threatened.

"You are fucking crazy!" Aurora shouted still trying to break free of Alex's grip.

Unfortunately, she was losing steam, her cold impairing her ability to keep up her struggle.

"I'm not gonna hurt you Aurora. Not this time anyway." Alex teased pushing his body against hers. "I just want to send Derek and his pack a message."

"What are you talking about?" Aurora asked trying to make sense of what Alex was saying.

"Oh Aurora. I think you know more than you are letting on. Or at least you suspect." Alex toyed.

"You are bat shit crazy! And when Derek finds out about this he's gonna kick your ass!" Aurora yelled in Alex's face.

Alex let out a wicked chuckle. It sounded terrifyingly familiar to the laugh that haunted Aurora's dreams.

"I would love to see him try." Alex taunted leaning forward to give Aurora a light kiss on the lips.

Aurora tried to turn her head away for Alex grabbed her jaw to hold her in place.

"You're disgusting!" Aurora screamed.

At that moment, Aurora heard a thunderous growl. Both she and Alex turned their heads to see a big black wolf coiled and ready to strike a few feet away from them.

"Silky!" Aurora yelled in relief.

"Silky?!" Alex laughed releasing Aurora so he could turn to face the wolf. "I knew you were soft Derek, but you let her name you Silky?"

"Derek? What the hell are you talking about?" Aurora asked.

Alex didn't answer, instead he raised his hand back and slapped Aurora across the face. Before Aurora had time to process what was happening Silky lunged at Alex. Silky went for Alex's throat but Alex was able to fight him off. Aurora couldn't move her body, all she could do was stand there frozen on the spot watching the two battle back and forth. Suddenly, Aurora heard Silky whimper and saw him fall to the ground. She let out a loud shirk when she realized that Alex had stabbed him in the side with a pocket knife.

"Silky!" Aurora cried rushing to the wolf's side.

"Just think Derek. You got your ass kicked and I didn't even have to shift." Alex taunted backing away from the wolf.

"Just leave!" Aurora screamed.

She decided to remove the knife from the wolf's side which caused him to whimper in pain.

"I'm so sorry buddy." Aurora said applying pressure to the wound.

"I told you I wouldn't fight fair Hale. Next time we meet it better be because you and your gang of misfits are joining my pack." Alex warned.

"You fucking crazy bastard! If you don't leave I swear-" Aurora started to scream, tearing running down her hair.

"Easy Aurora. He'll heal." Alex said walking toward them. Aurora recoiled but tried to shield Silky. "Until next time Hale." Alex taunted, kicking the wolf in the side and grazing Aurora's side in the process.

"You asshole!" Aurora yelled after Alex as he disappeared into the woods. "Silky, buddy, stay with me."

The wolf whined and made a move to stand up.

"No, don't try to move!" Aurora said trying to hold the wolf down but to no avail.

As the wolf sat up, Aurora moved her hands away from him wound to see how deep the cut was. Her jaw fell open when she noticed that the wound was completely gone.

"Silky, how did-?" Aurora started but stopped as she sat there in complete shock as the wolf before her transformed into a man.

A very naked man.

"OhmyGod! What the?!" Aurora stammered trying to get to her feet.

"Aurora. I can explain."

It was Derek.

"No. No! This isn't happening. I'm hallucinating. I have to be." Aurora frantically beginning to pace.

"Before we have this conversation, do you think you can get me something to cover up with?" Derek asked her way too calmly.

Aurora's jaw hit the floor.

"Oh yes. I'll just run to the nearest American Eagle and get you a nice pair of jeans!" Aurora spat. "And while I'm at it, I'll just by a couple of milk bones."

"I'm a wolf Aurora, not a dog." Derek deadpanned.

"You are unbelievable! That's what you are!" Aurora yelled as she walked over to her car and grabbed the keys from the ignition. She remembered that there was a blanket in her truck from the last time she and Elizabeth went to see fireworks. She kept in there in case of emergencies.

'This was not an emergency that EVER crossed my mind.' Aurora thought as she grabbed the purple blanket and closed her trunk.

"Here." She said throwing the blanket at Derek who immediately wrapped it around his body and stood up.

"I know this is a lot to take in." He began.

"That is the understatement of the century." Aurora said putting her hands over her face as she leaned against her car for support.

"You look terrible." Derek said coming over to her, reaching his hand up to her forehead.

Aurora flinched.

"Please don't be afraid of me." Derek pleaded.

"I'm…I'm not I'm just…overwhelmed." Aurora said. "I need to go."

"Aurora, wait." Derek begged.

"Derek. I would have a hard time processing this on a normal day! But today of all days, when I feel like I'm going to fall over from whatever the hell kind of cold I have, I'm not even sure what to think right now. I just need some time." Aurora said.

Derek looked extremely disappointed, but nodded his agreement.

"I'll call you in a couple of days." Aurora heard him say, but she didn't answer. She just got in her car and drove away without looking back.

**XXXX**

"Oh, my baby girl. You look like you feel awful." Mrs. Montgomery said checking her daughter for a fever. "And you are burning up."

Mrs. Montgomery had just got home from work to find Aurora bundled up in bed.

"Can I have a hug momma?" Aurora whimpered.

"Oh of course my sweet girl." Mrs. Montgomery said embracing Aurora as she sat up in her bed.

"Aurora? Sweetie, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Mrs. Montgomery asked concerned.

Aurora didn't mean to start crying. She was just so overwhelmed with what had transpired hours before, she couldn't help it.

'I'm afraid I've lost my mind mom, that's why I'm crying.' Aurora thought.

"Just feel miserable." Aurora told her mother, and it was only half a lie.

"Try to rest darlin'. I'll bring you some NyQuil and tissues." Her mom said brushing the tears from Aurora's eyes.

"Thanks momma." Aurora said pulling the covers up to her neck.


	15. Chapter 15

_Author's note: Hey y'all! Just wanted to let you know that I probably won't be able to until Wednesday because of New Years. :( I'm sorry! _

_There is a to be continued at the end but it's not a cliffhanger of epic proportions. Lol_

_Hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks again for reading! :D_

_ENJOY!_

It was Friday before Aurora started to feel like herself again. She decided since she didn't feel half as bad as she had the previous four days that she should go to school. She didn't even want to think about the pile of homework that awaited her. Getting dressed, Aurora was sure to wear a long sleeve shirt and a hoodie to keep warm. She debated on sweat pants but decided to wear her second favorite pair of True Religion™ jeans. Before heading downstairs she grabbed her cell phone from the table next to her bed. She looked down at the screen to see a message alert. It was from Derek. He had been texting her all week. Between her cold and the fact that she had no idea what to say to him, Aurora didn't answer any of his messages. She was still having a hard time comprehending what had happened and Derek wasn't making it any easier for her to process. She decided to read the new text, just to see what Derek had said.

**To: Princess**

**From: Mountain Man**

_Aurora. Please talk to me. I'm sorry that I've been blowing up your phone but I'm worried. Please, just let me know you are okay._

'That's just it,' Aurora thought, 'I am totally not okay. Either you're a werewolf or I'm crazy. Both of those options SUCK!'

She put her phone in her pocket then immediately took it back out.

**To: Mountain Man**

**From: Princess**

_If by "okay" you mean alive, than yes. I'm okay._

**To: Princess**

**From: Mountain Man**

_You had me worried sick. How are you feeling? Physically._

**To: Mountain Man**

**From: Princess**

_You can't help yourself can you? I'm trying to process the craziest thing that has ever happened in my life and you scold me for it. Much better. Just a little weak._

**To: Princess **

**From: Mountain Man**

_I was about to come check on you. If you would have just text me back the first twenty times I wouldn't have to scold you. I'm glad to hear that._

**To: Mountain Man**

**From: Princess**

_I don't have time for your creepy possessive ways right now. I need to get to school._

**To: Princess**

**From: Mountain Man**

_Are you feeling well enough to go to the dance tonight? Or are you skipping it?_

**To: Mountain Man**

**From: Princess**

_I really want to go, but I don't know if I'm up for it._

**To: Princess**

**From: Mountain Man**

_You don't want me to take you anymore, do you?_

Aurora's heart sank.

**To: Mountain Man**

**From: Princess**

_Derek, I'm not ready to have the conversation we need to have. I don't think I could act normal at the dance with that sort of weight hanging on my shoulders._

**To: Princess**

**From: Mountain Man**

_I understand. Well, if you go I hope you have a great night. Let me know when you are ready to talk. I miss you._

**To: Mountain Man**

**From: Princess**

_Thank you. And I will._

With that, Aurora shoved her phone in her pocket. Brushing the tears off her face, she headed downstairs for breakfast.

***12:30 p.m. Friday afternoon***

"The amount of homework I have should be considered unconstitutional." Aurora complained sitting down next to Elizabeth at their lunch table.

"I'm so sorry A. If you need any help I would be happy to assist." Elizabeth said smiling at her best friend.

"Thank Lizzie! You're the best friend a girl could have!" Aurora gushed.

"Alright, shut up." Elizabeth said nudging Aurora with her elbow.

Aurora let out a small laugh moving her salad around on her plate with her fork.

"You seem down though." Elizabeth added. "And I don't mean too much homework just getting over a cold down either. Did something happen with Derek?"

"No." Aurora lied.

"Aurora. What happened? Did Derek do something?" Elizabeth asked

"No! Why do you always think the worst of him? I really don't want to talk about it Elizabeth." Aurora spat.

"So something did happen." Elizabeth pushed.

"Elizabeth. It's fine. I'm just confused right now. Derek didn't do anything to me." Aurora said.

"Why are you confused?" Elizabeth continued. "Is it because you think he is moving too fast? You guys got serious pretty quick."

"He's not moving too fast." Aurora said annoyed. "Can we drop it for right now, please? I just want to eat my lunch."

"Is he still taking you to the dance?" Elizabeth asked pressing her luck.

"No." Aurora gritted out.

Elizabeth stopped after that.

When the bell rang to signal that lunch was over Aurora got up from the table without saying anything to Elizabeth. She was furious. Even though she knew she shouldn't be. Elizabeth was just worried. Aurora knew she shouldn't take her frustration out on her best friend for caring but she wasn't thinking that rationally. She walked quickly down the hall to her sixth period class in hopes Elizabeth wouldn't try to talk to her anymore.

"Aurora! Wait up!" She heard someone call.

It wasn't the voice of her best friend.

Aurora turned around to see a boy with dark brown hair running up to her.

"What's up Ian?" She asked trying to act like her cared.

Ian was a pale, thin kid with bright green eyes. He wore glasses and his hair was long enough that it flipped up around his ears. Aurora had known him since freshman year from National Honor Society. He was a really sweet guy and always had kind things to say.

"Hey Aurora. I was wondering, do you have a date from the dance tonight?" Ian asked.

"Umm…" Aurora shrugged.

"If not, I was wondering if you would like to go with me? As friends?" He asked hopefully.

"Didn't you want to go with Stacy?" Aurora questioned.

"Ha. Yeah. She didn't even let me get the question out before laughing in my face. I guess that's what I get for being a nerd who's in love with the most popular girl in school." Ian chuckled.

He'd been trying to get Stacy's attention from the moment they started high school.

"Well, that's her loss. And I'd love to go with you." Aurora told him.

"Great! I'll pick you up at six?" Ian asked.

"That sounds great Ian." Aurora smiled.

She tried her hardest not to be sad. Ian was a really nice guy. There was no reason for him to have to go to the dance alone. Especially not because some bitch wouldn't get off her pedestal to notice he was an amazing guy.

'It will be fine Aurora. You'll go to the dance and have a good time.' She thought trying to reassure herself.

By the time the final bell rang, Aurora had made herself sick with worry. She didn't want to go to the dance but she didn't want to deal with what she had found out about Derek either. When she got in her car she had to stop herself from screaming. She felt so overwhelmed she started to cry.

**XXXX**

"I thought you said you didn't have a date." Mrs. Montgomery said raising an eyebrow at her daughter from her seat on the couch.

"Ian asked me last minute." Aurora told her mom walking down the stairs to join her in the living room.

"Oh you look fantastic!" Mrs. Montgomery said joyfully.

Aurora was wearing her dress for the dance with silver high heels. She had curled her hair and left it down. Aurora didn't put much make up on, just eyeliner and mascara.

"Thanks!" Aurora said trying to be happy.

"What time will Ian be here?" Mrs. Montgomery asked.

Just then there was a knock at the front door.

"Speak of the devil." Aurora giggled walking over to answer it.

"Oh, wow. You look amazing." Ian told her when she opened the door.

He was dressed in a black suit with a light purple tie.

"You are looking pretty dapper yourself." Aurora smiled.

"I need pictures!" Mrs. Montgomery shouted jumping up to get her camera.

**XXXX**

When they arrived at the dance it was six thirty.

"Thank you for agreeing to come with me last minute." Ian told Aurora as they walked in to the school gym where the dance was being held.

"No problem!" Aurora grinned.

Entering the gym Aurora saw Elizabeth and Paul out on the dance floor. She hoped that her best friend wasn't upset with her from earlier.

"Ready to dance?" Ian asked loudly over the music.

"Let's do it!" Aurora said grabbing his hand.

They walked over to Elizabeth and Paul who immediately started dancing with them. Aurora gave her best friend a quick hug and Elizabeth smiled. Relief flooded Aurora's thoughts. She knew Elizabeth hadn't taken what had happened earlier to heart. Ian grabbed Aurora's hands and spun her around. They danced for a couple of songs before Aurora had to sit down. She still wasn't feeling one hundred percent better.

"I'll get you some water." Ian told her with a smile.

"Thank you so much!" Aurora said sitting down at the closest table.

Elizabeth and Paul joined her at the table a few minutes later. Elizabeth sat to Aurora's left and Paul sat next to Elizabeth.

"I'm glad you decided to go tonight." Elizabeth told Aurora.

"Me too bestie." Aurora beamed.

"Elizabeth! Aurora!" Ethan shouted excitedly walking up to their table.

He was accompanied by his boyfriend Danny.

"Hey! You two look great!" Aurora told them as they sat down.

"Why thank you. You look mighty fine yourself." Ethan said with a wink.

"Here you go Aurora." Ian said sitting a glass of water in front of her as he sat down on Aurora's right.

"Thank you." Aurora told him taking a huge gulp of water.

"Here, let me get that for you." Ian said reaching over to tuck a stray piece of Aurora's hair behind her ear.

Aurora smiled.

It didn't take long for everyone at the table to start chatting. They were all talking about the insanely ridiculous math homework Professor Stevens had assigned when Elizabeth's body went rigid.

"I thought you said he wasn't going to be here tonight." Elizabeth said stiffly looking over at the gym entrance.

Derek was standing in the doorway.

Aurora nearly swooned when he caught her eye and smiled wide. He was dressed in a black suit with a light blue tie he had obviously picked out to match Aurora's dress. Aurora couldn't help but think how incredibly handsome he looked.

"Who's that?" Ian asked looking from Derek to Aurora.

Aurora didn't answer. Instead she made a beeline for Derek, grabbing him by the arm to lead him back outside.

"What are you doing here?" Aurora asked trying to act like she wasn't thrilled to see him.

She looked around to see that they were completely alone in the parking lot. It was freezing outside and Aurora's body began to shake after only a few seconds of standing in the cold.

Derek didn't respond to her question. He was looking at her intensely his eyebrows furrowed.

"Derek?" Aurora questioned.

"Why do you smell like some guy?" He asked in a low growl.

"Why do I what?!" Aurora shouted going wide eyed. "You can smell Ian on me?"

"Who the fuck is Ian?" Derek fumed.

His eyes flashed red.

"He's my friend. FRIEND, Derek." Aurora told him in agitation.

"Then why is his sent all over you?" He gritted out.

"We were dancing!" Aurora shouted.

Derek looked like he had swallowed glass.

"Jesus Derek. We just danced. What can I do to make you stop looking at me like that?" Aurora asked wanting him to stop staring at her like she smelled like garbage.

Derek didn't say anything. Instead he grabbed her hips and pulled her close. He slowly ran his hands from her hips up the sides of her body leaning down to kiss her collar bone. Aurora's knees went weak. Even though she fought the urge to run her fingers through his hair, she grabbed ahold of his shoulders for support. Derek moved from her collar bone to her neck nipping at it playfully.

"What exactly do you hope to accomplish by groping me?" Aurora giggled.

"Trying to make you smell like me again." Derek mumbled into her neck.

"Again?! This is some freaky werewolf thing isn't it?" Aurora asked whispering the word werewolf.

"Why does your hair smell like him?" Derek rumbled sliding his right hand down her back making her whole body shiver.

It was clear Derek was going to completely ignore her question. He used his other hand to cup Aurora's chin to make her look straight into his eyes.

"He pushed my hair out of my face." Aurora managed to say gripping his shoulders tighter. She was completely distracted by Derek's actions.

"Do you understand how difficult it is for me not to go into that gym and rip him apart?" Derek asked taking his hand away from her chin and running his thumb along her bottom lip.

Aurora was about to respond when Derek pulled her into a feverish kiss. Everything Aurora was trying to hold back faded away. She moved her hands from his shoulders to his hair as Derek deepened the kiss. Both of Derek's hands made their way to their usual place on Aurora's hips again making her heart flutter.

"I've missed you so much." Aurora nearly cried pulling her lips away from Derek's to catch her breath.

"I'm missed you too." Derek replied resting his forehead against Aurora's.

"We need to talk though." Aurora said in a somber tone pulling back to look at him. "I can't even begin to explain to you have confused I am. I don't understand anything that is going on with Alex and his creepy…pack." She stated.

Derek raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, that's right. I'm finally starting to understand the terminology." Aurora chuckled. "You're an alpha…right?"

"That's right." Derek confirmed.

"Not that I'm surprised." Aurora laughed making Derek smirk. "So Isaac, Laura, Jackson, Lydia, Hailey, Erica, and Boyd are all in your pack? And they are all…like you?"

"They are all in my pack, yes. Lydia is the only human. Everyone else is like me in a sense. But they are all betas. Not alphas." Derek explained.

"Lydia is human but she's in your pack?" Aurora inquired.

"She is Jackson's mate." Derek told her.

Aurora had an epiphany.

"Mate! So werewolves can be mated to humans? That's what Randal meant when he called me…your mate."

Suddenly her conversation with Alex's pack didn't seem so strange.

"That's right. Wolves don't chose who they are mated to. It's more of an instinct. We just know. It can be a human or another werewolf. In Jackson's case it is Lydia." Derek said.

"And in your case it's me." Aurora grinned.

"Exactly princess." Derek chuckled.

"This is absolutely insane." Aurora laughed.

"Trust me when I tell you this is not how I planned on telling you about me." Derek said in disappointment.

"Ha! You planned on telling me? When? Our fiftieth wedding anniversary?" Aurora teased.

Derek gave her a sheepish grin.

"No. I was thinking our twentieth." He joked.

Aurora folded her arms across her chest.

"Anything would have been better than the way I actually found out." She scolded.

"I'm sorry Aurora. I should have told you sooner. I was just so worried…" He began.

"That I would freak out?" Aurora finished his sentence with a small laugh.

Derek nodded.

"Well, you were completely right to worry. Cause I am definitely freaking out." She told him. "But I don't want to lose you."

"You won't. Not ever." Derek promised.

"It's going to take time for me to adjust, you know that right?" Aurora asked.

"I understand. Just don't stop talking to me again. I nearly lost my mind." Derek sighed.

"I'm sorry Der. I was just so scared. I'm still scared. Werewolves are supposed to exist! I'm literally trying to convince myself I'm not crazy." Aurora said.

"You aren't crazy Aurora. And I'm sorry I've caused you pain." Derek told her.

"Derek. It's fine. I'm completely fine. And I will be as long as I have you." She smiled.

Derek gave her a short, sweet kiss.

"Can I save everything else for later?" He asked.

"Werewolf say what?" Aurora joked.

"Alpha, beta, omega." Derek rattled off. "Alphas are the wolves that lead the pack. Betas are sort of like followers. They look for an alpha for multiple reasons. Power for instance. Wolves are stronger in numbers that's why they join a pack. Same goes for the alpha. But the title isn't a constant. Betas can become alphas and alphas can fall to betas."

Aurora's head was spinning.

"What about an omega?" She asked.

"An omega is a lone wolf. That's not something we strive to become." Derek stated in a matter of fact tone.

"I'm still lost." Aurora laughed shaking her head.

"I know. I promise I will explain everything from the beginning soon. But for now, can we go inside so I can dance with you?" Derek asked with a smile.

Aurora couldn't have said no if she tried.

"Absolutely Mountain Man." She grinned as she took his hand. "Oh. You can't slightly injury, maim, and or kill Ian."

Derek scowled.

"I'm serious, don't be mean. He's super sweet." Aurora warned.

"I'll try." Derek huffed.

TO BE CONTINUED


	16. Chapter 16

_Author's note: Hey y'all! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Just a warning there is a cliffhanger. I'm sorry! D: _

_ENJOY_

When they returned to the gym Elizabeth was waiting by the door.

"Aurora can I talk to you?" She asked impatiently.

"Hello Liz." Derek said curtly.

Elizabeth gave him a dirty look before pulling her best friend out of Derek's ear shot. Or at least what she thought was out of Derek's ear shot.

"Can you please explain to me what's going on?" Elizabeth asked crossing her arms.

"Nothing is going on. Let's enjoy the dance." Aurora said but she knew she was just wasting her breath.

"Bullshit Aurora." Elizabeth spat narrowing her eyes.

"I told you already. I was confused. I'm good now, Derek and I are good." Aurora sighed.

Elizabeth wasn't convinced in the slightest.

"I'm not letting this go Aurora. You might not want to tell me now, but I'm going to get you to tell me." Elizabeth warned.

"Whatever you say bestie. Now, be civil with my boyfriend." Aurora said knowing she would have to make up something later to make Elizabeth stop being so suspicious of Derek.

She just didn't have a clue what she was going to say.

"Yeah, yeah." Elizabeth said reluctantly.

Walking back over to Derek, Elizabeth gave him a fake smile.

"So glad you could make it, Derek." She lied.

Aurora choked back a laugh as Derek smiled back.

"I think she likes me." Derek joked whispering in Aurora's ear.

They followed Elizabeth back to the table that they were sitting at when Derek showed up.

"Hey Ethan!" Derek said clapping him on the back.

"Derek! Glad you could make it!" Ethan said with a smile. "This is my boyfriend, Danny."

"Nice to meet you." Derek said shaking Danny's hand.

"Likewise!" Danny grinned.

"Where is Ian?" Aurora asked Elizabeth who had taken her seat next to Paul again.

"Over there with some of his friends." Elizabeth said pointing across the gym to another table. Ian was sitting with three other guys and it looked as if he was telling a funny story because they were all laughing.

"I'm going to go talk to him really quick. I'll be right back." Aurora told the table but mostly Derek.

She watched as the color drained from his face.

"Aurora-" Derek began.

"I owe him an apology. I will only be a minute. Sit here and talk to Ethan. And for the love of all that is holy don't freak out. I'm going to talk to him. Just talk." Aurora said before Derek could argue.

With an exasperated huff Derek reluctantly took a seat next to Ethan at the table. Ignoring the raised eyebrow and inquiring looks her friends were giving her, Aurora made her way over to Ian's table. When she arrived the three other boys sitting with Ian became quiet. Ian looked at her curiously.

"Hey Ian. Can we talk?" Aurora asked shyly.

"Sure." Ian replied. He didn't sound angry in the least bit. Bless him.

The other boys made some excuse about going to get something to drink so Aurora and Ian were left alone at the table. Aurora sat down in the chair next to Ian and turned it to face him.

"I'm so very sorry I just ran out on you like that." Aurora said in a small voice.

"Yeah, what was that?" Ian scolded but it wasn't malicious. Aurora could tell he was just joking.

"My boyfriend, Derek. I had no idea he would be here tonight. We were having an…issue. And he completely shocked me by showing up." Aurora explained.

"It's really okay Aurora." Ian smiled. "I'm assuming since he is still here you guys are good now?"

Aurora couldn't believe how amazing Ian was being about the whole situation.

"Yeah, we are good." Aurora grinned.

"Well then that's all that matters! You go and dance with your boyfriend. I will be just fine hanging out with the guys." Ian told her.

"You are way too good of a guy. Thank you so much for being so sweet!" Aurora gushed as she stood up.

Ethan followed suit and gave Aurora a huge bear hug. She squeezed back smiling into his shoulder.

"Now," He said releasing her. "Go dance with your boyfriend…who looks like he's going to remove my lungs with a rusty spoon." Ian cringed looking over to see Derek seething.

"I apologize for that as well." Aurora giggled. "He's a little protective."

"A little?" Ian teased.

Aurora gave Ian one last small hug before telling him goodbye. Walking back over to Derek she had to suppress a smile. Derek looked like he had just been slapped with a wet dish rag.

"Just talk, huh?" He scolded turning his neck slightly to look back at Aurora who had walked up behind his chair.

Running her hand through his hair she leaned down and whispered into his ear, "Don't have a conniption fit Mountain Man. I belong to you."

That was enough to calm Derek down and even bring a cocky smirk to his face.

"Shall we dance?" Derek asked her, his confidence oozing off of every word.

"Soon. There is one more thing I have to do." Aurora said scanning the gym until she spotted the person she was looking for. "I need to have a little conversation with the head cheerleader."

Derek looked confused but didn't argue. Aurora walked over to Stacy who was sitting at a table with a bunch of members of the football team. She looked at extremely bored and even more agitated.

"Stacy. We need to talk." Aurora said firmly.

Stacy looked at her like "who the hell to you think you are?" but Aurora didn't back down. Rolling her eyes, Stacy stood up from the table and followed Aurora to a quiet corner. Stacy's date didn't even realize she was missing because he was too busy having a burping contest with his fellow jocks.

"What?" Stacy asked sounding overwhelmingly put off.

"You are going to ask Ian to dance." Aurora stated.

"Ian? Who the hell is that?" Stacy asked but Aurora could see right through her.

"Oh drop the act Stacy. You know exactly who he is. He's tutored you in math for the last year. And don't think I haven't seen him make you laugh. He's the only one that doesn't treat you like an idiot when it comes to academics. And he is definitely the only one who likes you for you not just because you are the captain of the cheerleading squad." Aurora lectured.

Stacy opened her mouth to argue but thought better of it.

"I'm here with someone else." She said indifferently.

"Yeah. Someone who doesn't even know that you aren't sitting next to him anymore because he is too busy trying to be the biggest loser between him and his friends." Aurora said looking over to see Stacy's date giving on of the freshman on the football team a wedgie.

Stacy made a disgusted noise at the sight.

"Classy." Aurora said sarcastically. "Why would you rather sit next to that dumbass and be bored all night when you could be dancing with Ian? Someone who truly enjoys your company." She asked.

"Fine." Stacy sighed.

"Thanks Ice Queen." Aurora mocked as Stacy walked away.

She threw Aurora a dirty look over her shoulder before she reached Ian. Turning to face him Stacy asked Ian to dance. Aurora watched his face light up as he took her hand and walked out to the dance floor. The song All My Life had just begun to play. Putting his arms around Stacy's waist Ian looked over at Aurora like he had just won the lottery. She gave him a huge grin and two thumbs up. Aurora was about to make her way back over to Derek when she saw him heading her way.

"If you are done playing match maker I would really like to dance with you, woman." Derek joked grabbing Aurora's hand and leading her out onto the dance floor.

Aurora wrapped her arms around Derek's neck as he held her close swaying their bodies to the music.

**XXXX**

Derek took Aurora home from the dance that night.

"I'm really glad you decided to crash the dance. I had a great time." Aurora said unbuckling her seat belt as Derek pulled the Camaro up to the sidewalk in front of her house.

"I'm really glad you are still my girl." Derek replied sincerely.

Aurora leaned forward and gave him a kiss.

"You can't get rid of me that easy…Silky." Aurora teased with a little tug at Derek's hair.

"You are not calling me that anymore." Derek groaned.

"HA! Try and stop me." Aurora challenged playfully.

Derek rolled his eyes.

"Are you still staying at my house tomorrow while your parents are gone?" He asked.

Aurora had almost forgotten about her parents' trip. She figured learning that her boyfriend could shape shift into a giant wolf was a perfectly good excuse for that.

"For sure. Can I still get my tattoo?" She asked hopefully.

"Tyler actually asked me yesterday if you were still up for it." Derek said softly.

Aurora could tell he was thinking about the fact that she wasn't speaking to him as of yesterday and it made her sad.

"I didn't know what to tell him, obviously." He continued. "So I just said I would get back to him as soon as possible."

"Call him up and tell him hell yes!" Aurora smiled.

"I will as soon as I get home." Derek chuckled.

"Well, I better go before one of my parents notice a random black Camaro parked out in front of our house." Aurora teased giving Derek another kiss goodbye. "I'll be over at like noon if that's okay?"

"I can pick you up?" Derek asked hopefully but wasn't surprised when Aurora turned him down.

"It's all good Mountain Man. I would feel better having my car. Plus, I know my way to your house now." She told him.

"I'll see you tomorrow princess." Derek said in defeat his lips curled up at the ends fighting a smile.

"See you then…Silky!" Aurora giggled hopping out of the car before Derek could retort.

She walked quickly up the porch steps and turned to wave at Derek when she reached the front door. He waved back and waited until Aurora was safely inside before driving away.

"Did you have a good time darlin'?" Mr. Montgomery asked when Aurora entered the living room.

Mrs. Montgomery and he were watching TV on the couch. Nathaniel sat on the floor leaning over the coffee table doing what Aurora assumed was homework.

"I had an amazing time!" Aurora beamed taking off her heels.

"Did you and four eyes smooch?" Nathaniel teased.

"None of your business, brat." Aurora said walking over to mess up her baby brother's hair.

He tried to dodge but Aurora was too quick for him.

"Mom! Tell Aurora to stop it!" Nathaniel whined.

"I think you might have deserved that son." Mrs. Montgomery laughed.

"Well, I'm glad you had a good time sweetheart." Mr. Montgomery stated.

"Thanks daddy! So, what time are you and momma leaving tomorrow?" Aurora asked sitting down on the reclining chair beside the couch.

"We have an early flight. Probably five in the morning." Mr. Montgomery answered.

"The only reason we are up right now is because we wanted to wait up for you." Mrs. Montgomery smiled.

Aurora looked at the clock which read 10:00 p.m.

"You two better get your butts to bed." Aurora joked. "I love you both! Have a safe flight!" She said getting up to hug her parents.

"Are you staying with someone while we are gone?" Mrs. Montgomery asked.

Aurora nearly fainted.

"Nope. Just hanging out here. I have so much homework." Aurora lied.

"I'm going to Ben's." Nathaniel volunteered.

"Aurora, are you sure you will be okay by yourself?" Mr. Montgomery asked with worry in his voice.

She had to think fast.

"You know what? I think I will stay at my friend Lydia's house." Aurora stated.

"Lydia?" Mrs. Montgomery asked.

"Yeah, she's new in town. We hit it off right away." Aurora said which wasn't a complete lie. Derek's house was Lydia's house too and they did get along really well.

"That's great. And your father and I will feel a lot better knowing you aren't staying alone." Mrs. Montgomery told her cheerfully.

Aurora never lied to her parents so they had no reason to believe she was now. Abusing their trust made her feel ridiculously guilty. Pushing her negative thoughts aside she focused on the fact that where she would be staying tomorrow was probably the safest place for her.

"Good night my babies." Mrs. Montgomery said getting off the couch. "See you both Sunday evening."

"Night kids. If you need us at any time just call." Mr. Montgomery told Nathaniel and Aurora following Mrs. Montgomery's action.

"We will." Aurora said. "Love you both!"

"Love you too!" Her parents said collectively.

**XXXX**

Saturday morning Aurora woke up to something that sounded like an explosion. She shot up in her bed and looked around wild-eyed. It took her a few moments to realize the noise she had heard was thunder. Getting out of bed she walked over to her window and peered out it. The sky was so dark it look like it was still night. She grabbed her cell phone and checked the time.

9:00 a.m.

Taking a deep breath, Aurora decided to get a quick shower before the storm got worse.

She really didn't feel like getting electrocuted.

Aurora grabbed a pair of sweat pants and a long sleeve shirt to wear for the day. Looking through her underwear drawer she picked out a lacy black bra and panties to match. Her last stop was to get some towels from the closet before she made her way to the bathroom. When she was done she headed back to her room to pack a bag to take to Derek's. She picked out two outfits, one for tomorrow and one as a backup. Aurora also decided to grab a couple of her favorite movies to torture Derek with. She held back a giggle as she placed the movie The Covenant in her bag. Aurora then grabbed her backpack and collected all her homework she needed to do. Although that was the last thing she wanted to have to focus on while she was with Derek, Aurora knew she needed to start on the monstrous pile of homework she had. After collecting her hairbrush and tooth brush Aurora zipped up her bag and headed downstairs to the kitchen. By that time it was ten thirty and Aurora decided to eat some breakfast. She was half way through her oatmeal when Nathaniel joined her in the kitchen.

"Morning brat." Aurora said.

"Morning butthead." Nathaniel replied sleepily.

He went over to the refrigerator and grabbed the milk for the cereal he was about to pour.

"It's nasty out there." He observed looking through the small window above the kitchen sink.

"That's no lie. I nearly had a heart attack when it thundered." Aurora complained.

"You're so jumpy big sister." Nathaniel teased sitting down to eat his breakfast.

"Shut it." Aurora joked. "What time are you going to Ben's?"

"Dunno. I was thinking eleven?" Nathaniel said.

"Cool. Be safe while I'm gone. I don't want you over here by yourself. If you want to come home early for some reason, call me. Okay?" Aurora told her brother in a serious tone.

"I will. Don't break out your mom voice. I am going to stay at Ben's till mom and dad get back." Nathaniel said sticking out his tongue.

Aurora stuck her tongue out in retaliation.

It hadn't accrued to her until now how worried she was to leave her brother alone. The thought of Alex crept into her mind. Knowing what he was made her even more frightened of him.

"And if you guys want to go anywhere make sure you have an adult with you. Or call me. I'll take you." Aurora said nervously.

"Dude, chill out big sis. We are just going to play video games not try to cliff dive." Nathaniel joked.

"I mean it brat. Be careful." Aurora told him.

He nodded and rolled his eyes, continuing to eat his cereal.

After they finished their breakfast and cleaned their dishes, Nathaniel ran upstairs to pack for Ben's. It wasn't long before he was making his way out the door. Aurora made sure he got to Ben's safely then turned off all the lights in the house and made sure she locked the front door. Throwing her bag over her shoulder, Aurora walked swiftly to her car trying to move as fast as possible to avoid sharp gusts of wind. Putting her bag in the trunk she ran to the driver's side door and threw it open jumping in quickly. As soon as the door was shut as started the car and turned the heater on full blast. It was so dark that Aurora had to turn on her headlights before pulling onto the street. It started to pour just about the time she made it to the camp site and she couldn't help but start to regret not taking Derek up on his offer to drive her.

'It's fine.' Aurora thought. 'Just drive fast.'

Unfortunately, driving fast was not an option. The woods were black as an abyss and the rain made it even more difficult for Aurora to see. She was forced to keep her speedometer at 15 mph and leaned forward to make the path visible. After about ten minutes, Aurora stopped at the fork in the road that signified she was half way to Derek's house. She was about to make a right when she saw a dark figure lurking in the road.

Its eyes were dark red.

TO BE CONTINUED


	17. Chapter 17

_Author's note: Hey! :) Hope all of you are still enjoying the story! I know you all already know that this story has an M rating but I just wanted to warn everyone that I'm getting __**explicit **__up in this biotch. LOL _

_In all seriousness, I went back and read the descriptions of the ratings and from what I understand this story should be rated MA. However, when I went to change it there was no option for MA that I could find. So I just wanted to let you all know that this chapter does contain __**sexual material**__._

_Sorry for the mislabeled rating. :(_

_ENJOY!_

Aurora could hear her heart pounding in her ears.

A huge wolf stood in front of her car baring it's teeth. Looking more closely, Aurora noticed it was brown. It was the same brown wolf that had ran in front of her car the night she was driving to Elizabeth's house.

"Alex." Aurora said out loud gripping the steering wheel tighter.

The wolf rolled its shoulders getting ready to pounce.

Aurora had no idea what to do.

Fear had taken over all of her senses and she was utterly helpless.

Suddenly Aurora heard a muffled whimper.

Turning her windshield wipers up higher she saw that another wolf had taken Alex by surprise, latching it's fangs onto his throat. It was smaller than Alex and a light gray color. The force of the attack by the other wolf had sent Alex and it sprawling out of the road. Seizing the opportunity Aurora hit the gas petal throwing caution to the wind. Her whole body was shaking as she raced through the ominous woods. Nearly taking out four or five trees she finally reached the paved driveway that led to Derek's house. Aurora parked and got out of her car as fast as she could leaving her bag in the trunk. She shot up the path to the front door. She didn't even take the time to knock and silently thanked whoever had left the huge wooden door unlocked. It was an accident but Aurora ended up slamming the door behind her.

"Aurora?! Oh my God, are you okay?" Laura asked appearing from the hallway that led to the dining room. Lydia was behind her, eyes wide with fear.

Aurora leaned against the door unable to answer Laura's question. Her chest was heaving.

"What's going on?!" Came a stern but worried voice from the staircase.

It was Derek.

He was wearing a pair of faded jeans with no shirt.

Aurora dashed over to him crashing her body against his. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck tears flooding her eyes.

"Aurora what the hell happened?" He asked holding her close.

"There was a wolf." Aurora managed to sob.

Derek pulled back to look at her.

"What did it look like?" He growled.

"It was big, with brown fur and red eyes." Aurora told him trying to calm herself down.

Derek made a feral, guttural sound that made Aurora cringe.

"If it wasn't for the other wolf I don't know what would have happened." Aurora said gripping Derek's shoulders.

"Other wolf?" Lydia asked.

By that time Hailey, Erica, Boyd, and Jackson had found their way downstairs.

"Where is Isaac?" Derek asked in concern.

"He went out for a run." Laura almost whispered.

A wave of panic washed over the living room.

"Lydia, take Aurora upstairs and don't leave your room until I come to get you." Derek barked at the strawberry blonde.

She gave a quick nod before grabbing Aurora's hand to lead her upstairs.

"Wait. What are you going to do? I want to help Isaac." Aurora said to Derek.

"We will take care of it." Derek said. "Now go upstairs with Lydia. I can't concentrate on helping Isaac if I'm worried about your safety." He told her kissing her cheek lightly.

With that Lydia tugged at Aurora's hand who reluctantly followed her up to her room.

"What are they going to do? Do you think Isaac is okay?" Aurora asked Lydia frantically when they got to the bedroom that Lydia and Jackson shared.

Lydia closed to door behind her locking it for good measure.

"Aurora, I know you are upset and confused but you have to calm down." Lydia cooed watching Aurora pace back and forth.

"Sorry." Aurora apologized trying to make herself focus.

"Maybe you should sit down." Lydia suggested motioning to the massive king sized bed behind Aurora.

Aurora took Lydia's advice and sat on the foot of the bed taking a deep breath.

"What if Alex hurt Isaac?" Aurora asked trying to hold back tears.

Lydia gave her a sympathetic look before taking a seat next to Aurora.

"He will be fine. Derek and the others will take care of him. He will heal quickly." Lydia told her trying to provide some comfort.

"That's right! He can heal himself if he is wounded because of what he is." Aurora said perking up slightly.

"I take it you and Derek haven't had the werewolf talk yet?" Lydia asked with a giggle.

"Only a very small snippet." Aurora laughed. "Speaking of. How the hell did you find out about Jackson? How did he…you know become a werewolf? Please tell me you freaked out."

"He was born a werewolf." Lydia began.

"What about Derek?" Aurora interjected.

"He was born a werewolf as well. Along with Laura. Erica, Boyd, Isaac, and Hailey were bitten." Lydia told her.

"So Laura, Derek, and Jackson have been werewolves all their lives while Erica, Boyd, Isaac, and Hailey were just one day turn into a giant mythical creature?" Aurora asked exasperated.

"That's about right." Lydia stated.

"Wait." Aurora said a strange thought coming to her mind. "Hailey is a werewolf."

Lydia cocked her head to the side like "Yeah. We have already covered that" and raised her eyebrows.

"That bitch tried to kill me!" Aurora shouted.

"She's new. She didn't know what she was doing." Lydia defended with a small laugh. "Besides, Derek would have never let her hurt you."

Aurora smiled fondly at the mention of Derek's name.

"I know. I'm so going to give Hailey crap for this though. Gah! Who was the other wolf with her that night?" Aurora asked.

"Erica. She's a little bit older than Hailey as a werewolf that is. They were out for a run when they stumbled upon you and your friend." Lydia told her. "Hailey is an impulsive person and it carries over to her wolf as well. She attacked before thinking. Erica on the other hand is more rational and was able to fight the urge to go after you."

"When was Hailey turned?" Aurora inquired.

"Five months ago. Her boyfriend wanted her to join his pack." Lydia said sourly.

"Whoa! Randal turned Hailey and she was part of Alex's part?!" Aurora exclaimed.

"Yes. That was until one day when Alex's pack was out in the wood and Hailey ended injury a hiker. Alex didn't seem to care that she had lost control and almost killed someone. She learned that he wasn't ever going to teach her how to control herself during the shift. So she left Alex's pack and found Derek. Alex was furious." Lydia said.

"And Randal?" Aurora asked.

"Hailey wanted him to come with her but he refused. Loyalty to your alpha is a big deal. Randal would never betray Alex." Lydia informed her.

"That's so sad though. I know she would never admit it, especially not to me, but I can tell Hailey still has feelings for Randal. I could see it on her face when he showed up at the mall." Aurora said.

Lydia let out a long sigh.

"Hailey is Randal's mate. When I wolf can't be with his or her mate its torture for them." Lydia said sadly.

"Does that go the same for a human that is mated to a werewolf?" Aurora asked nonchalantly.

Lydia narrowed her eyes and smiled.

"You couldn't stand being away from Derek, could you? It was like someone ripped out your heart and stepped on it." She asked Aurora.

"Exactly. I was miserable. The only thing I wanted was to see him. And believe me, I tried really hard not to feel that way." Aurora said.

"Oh I know. I thought Derek was going to start writing you sonnets or bad love songs. It was pitiful." Lydia giggled.

"Was he really that upset?" Aurora wondered her heart feeling heavy.

"Yeah…but it's all right now. You came around and everything is good." Lydia smiled.

"Well now that we are done with the pack gossip," Aurora said with a laugh, "get back to your story of how you found out about Jackson."

"I've known Jacks since elementary school. Best friends." She continued with a smiled. "He was always really protective of me. Sometimes he wasn't rational about it. I always knew there was something different about our relationship. Not strange, just different. Like he would do anything to keep me safe. And when we got to high school he asked me to be his girlfriend. Of course I said yes, I knew he was the love of my life. I know, it sounds so cliché. I was a teenager and shouldn't have known about true love but I did." She said earnestly. "I didn't find out what he was until our sophomore year when he told me…I freaked out." She added with another giggle.

"Why did he decide to tell you?" Aurora asked.

"By that time he knew I was his mate and he figured I should know sooner rather than later." Lydia told her. "I barricaded myself in my room for two weeks."

"What made you come around?" Aurora inquired.

Lydia smiled wide.

"Jackson ripped the doorknob off my door." She remembered with a laugh. "Once I saw him I was just overwhelmed. Much like I image you felt seeing Derek after a week. I couldn't believe how much I had missed him and after some serious talking I started to accept what he had told me."

"How long did it take you to adjust?" Aurora asked skeptically.

"He told me two years ago and I'm still "adjusting" as you put it." Lydia said.

Aurora sighed but felt extremely relieved. She wasn't alone.

However, she was jarred from her brief moment of comfort by an enormous clap of thunder. Both Lydia and Aurora jumped at the sudden horrible sound. Aurora's heart had little time to recover before she was startled again by the loud sound of knocking at the bedroom door.

"Lydia, it's me." Derek called.

Jumping up Lydia unlocked the door to let him in. When he entered the room Aurora noticed that he was covered in dirt. The button on his jeans was undone and he was soaked from the rain.

"Please tell me you found Isaac? Is he okay? Are you hurt?" Aurora asked see a large smear of a red substance on Derek's arm. She was sure it was blood.

"Isaac is safe. Just a little scrapped up. You can definitely tell he gave Alex one hell of a fight." Derek said proudly. "And I'm fine. It's not my blood."

"I hope it belongs to Alex." Lydia said coldly.

Derek grinned.

"I was able to do some damage before the coward got away." He told Lydia. "Luckily for Isaac Alex's pack wasn't with him."

"Can I see Isaac?" Aurora asked.

"Sure. I'll take you to him." Derek said leading her out of Lydia's bedroom and down a large hallway. There were several doors on each side which ended up leading to what Aurora assumed was the master bedroom at the end of the hall. Isaac's room was the second door on the right. Derek knocked lightly before opening the door. Isaac was lying in the middle of a queen sized bed with his eyes shut. Aurora had to hold back a gasp when she saw the gaping wounds stretching down his bare chest.

"Why isn't he healing?" Aurora asked walking past Derek to sit by Isaac on his bed.

"Because the injury is from an Alpha." Isaac stated weakly opening his eyes to look at Aurora.

"But you will heal, right?" Aurora's voice was full of concern.

"I'll be fine." Isaac smiled. "Are you okay?"

"I'm completely fine. Thank you so much for saving me." Aurora said leaning forward to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"I owe you." Derek stated sitting on the other side of Isaac's bed.

"No. It was nothing." Isaac said modestly.

"You save my mate's life. I'm in your debt." Derek told him.

Isaac smiled weakly.

"You should get some rest." Derek said. "And next time, maybe you should pick on someone your own size." He joked lightly ruffling Isaac's hair.

Isaac let out a small laugh before closing his eyes again.

"I'm going to sit with him until he falls asleep." Aurora told Derek.

He nodded his approval and got up from the bed.

"I'll be in the bedroom at the end of the hall." Derek stated before leaving the room.

Aurora sat with Isaac for a good ten minutes before he drifted off to sleep. Giving him another kiss on the cheek Aurora turned off the lamp that sat next to his bed on a side table and closed his door tight. She then made her way down the hall to Derek's bedroom. Aurora noticed that the door was slightly cracked and she could her loud voices coming from inside.

"What the hell was that bastard thinking? Attacking MY mate on MY territory." Derek yelled in fury.

"He obviously wants to challenge you." Laura's voice said more calmly. "Derek, he's baiting you. It's a trap."

Aurora held her breath and moved closer to the half opened door.

"I don't care Laura. I won't let him put Aurora's life in danger again. I'm going to find that mother fucker and I'm going to rip his throat out." Derek seethed.

Laura didn't reply Derek's threat.

Instead there was a short moment of silence followed by Laura slyly saying, "I can hear your heart beating."

Aurora silently cursed.

When she entered Derek's room the smell of his cologne met her nose instantly. She shot Laura a sheepish grin before averting her eyes from Derek's angry gaze.

"You need to take a moment to think Derek. Aurora, please make my irrational, quick tempered little brother calm down." Laura said exiting Derek's room.

She shut the door firmly behind her. After a few seconds of Laura's absence Aurora looked up from the floor to see that Derek was still furious.

"She's right Der. Alex is setting you up. He knew attacking me would throw you off your game. Don't do anything out of rage." Aurora said softly stepping toward him.

Derek took a deep breath. Shaking his head he ran his hands through his hair.

"You're right." He said. "He's trying to get under my skin. I do know one thing for certain though, I'm never letting you out of my sight again."

Aurora wanted to argue and tell him that was ridiculous but she decided to let it go for now. She even, with a great deal of effort, managed not to roll her eyes.

"Why don't you take a shower? We can assess the situation once you've had time to relax." Aurora said.

Derek nodded his agreement.

"I'll be out in a bit." Derek told her entering the bathroom that was connected to his bedroom by a sliding wooden door.

"Take your time." Aurora said as Derek slid the door shut.

Once Derek was completely out of sight Aurora was able to take in her surroundings. Looking around she saw that Derek kept his room ridiculously clean. Like pass the white glove test clean. No clothes on the floor, no shoes lying around.

'Figures. Control freak.' Aurora thought with a small laugh.

She dropped onto the neatly made California king sized bed that was pushed against the right wall of Derek's room. There was a table next to the bed that was home to a small black lamp and a similarly colored digital clock that read three thirty. Aurora took her cell phone out of her pocket and placed it next to the clock. Kicking off her shoes, she crawled to the middle of the bed and snuggled down under the huge blanket. It was freezing as always in the house and Aurora was extremely pleased with the new found warmth she had. Turning on her left side Aurora heard Derek turn on the shower. It wasn't long before the scent of body wash filled her nostrils. For the first time that day Aurora felt safe. She closed her eyes and lay there silently, trying to relax. After about twenty minutes Aurora noticed that the water had stopped running. She rolled over onto her back and raised herself up on her elbows to get a better view of the bathroom door. It wasn't too long after that Derek immerged for the bathroom, water dripping down his bare chest. He was wearing nothing but a pair of gray boxers.

"Hey there, Sleepy Beauty." Derek smiled walking over to the bed.

"Hello my clothing deprived friend." Aurora joked lying back down. "Feel better?"

"Much." He said joining her under the covers.

Derek draped his right arm over Aurora's stomach pulling her close to his body. The heat from his chest was heavenly and Aurora tugged on his arm until he got the message that she wanted him to get closer. Derek leaned forward, shifting his weight to where he was laying on top of Aurora. He's body was between her legs and he rested his head on her chest.

"You are shivering." Derek stated kissing her neck.

"And you are like the surface of the sun." Aurora replied digging her nails into the muscles on his back.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Derek joked.

"Did you talk to Tyler?" Aurora asked trailing one of her hands from Derek's back to his hair.

He looked up at her slightly and scoffed.

"With everything that has happened today you are still thinking about a tattoo?" Derek asked.

"Yes sir! Can I still get it?" Aurora inquired.

Derek huffed resting his head back on her chest.

"Tyler said we could come in around nine thirty. That way everyone should be done cleaning up and long gone." Derek told her.

"Awesome!" Aurora cheered kissing his forehead.

Derek kissed her skin right above her left breast. Aurora pulled his mouth up to her own running her tongue along his bottom lip. He put all his weight on his elbows lifting up to where he was hovering over her kissing her passionately. Breaking the kiss to let Aurora breath, as he often had to, Derek whisper in her ear, "I can smell how turned on you are."

Aurora felt as if her body had caught fire. Derek talking dirty was literally the hottest thing she had ever heard. Aurora sat up slightly making a move to take off her shirt.

"Are you sure?" Derek asked his voice low and husky.

Aurora removed her shirt and discarded it on the floor.

"I'm sure Der." She told him with kiss on his jaw.

Derek nuzzled into her neck. Aurora let out a small moan as he began to suck at the sensitive skin.

"I do have a confession to make though." She said when he went to undone her bra.

Derek pulled back to look at Aurora's face.

"Here's the thing. I've…Well you see, I've never…" Aurora stammered.

"You're a virgin." Derek said flatly. It was a statement not a question.

"….Yeah…..Up until you I had only been in one other relationship and sex was so not an option." Aurora told him. "I knew that Dylan was not the right guy."

"And you're sure I am?" Derek asked.

"One hundred percent." Aurora smiled.

Derek's face lit up.

"I'm just nervous." She continued.

Derek pressed his forehead against Aurora's and grinned.

"Don't be nervous gorgeous. I've got you." He said seductively.

The anxious feeling that Aurora had in the pit of her stomach turned immediately into lust. Derek resumed his previous action and rid Aurora of her bra. Grabbing onto the top of his shoulders Aurora closed her eyes as Derek trailed small kisses down her chest. He lapped at her right nipple before latching onto it with his teeth, making it go hard. Aurora grabbed a hand full of his hair as he bucked his hips forward playfully.

"Do you like that?" He asked releasing her nipple as he looked up at her face.

Her cheeks where flushed and all she could do was nod in response. With a smile Derek moved to Aurora's side making it to where he could slide off her sweat pants. He threw them on the floor and eyed Aurora's body greedily.

"I think you forgot something." Aurora said biting her lip. She was referring to her panties that Derek had failed to remove.

"I assume that's the closest I'm going to get to you begging for it, right?" Derek chuckled running his index finger along the inside of Aurora's underwear line.

"Damn it Derek. I want you." Aurora said grabbing the back of his neck crashing her lips into his.

"What is it you want, exactly?" He asked slyly pulling away.

"I want you to fuck me." Aurora stated boldly palming Derek's half harden cock.

Derek growled, his eyes flashing red.

That was enough to make him stop messing around.

Derek hooked his thumbs into the elastic of her panties and pulled them down.

"You're so beautiful." He told her his voice completely wrecked.

Aurora kissed him quickly before he reached over to the bed side table to open the drawer attached to it. She watched him curiously but before she realized what he was doing. Aurora blushed when Derek pulled out a box of condoms.

"You don't have to use one if you don't want to." Aurora said shyly.

Derek raised an eyebrow.

"I'm on birth control…" She told him making his eyebrow climb higher. "To regulate my period." Aurora blurred out extremely embarrassed.

He chuckled and kissed her cheek.

"It's okay princess. You don't have to be embarrassed either." Derek said with a wink.

Removing his own underwear quickly, Derek swung Aurora's right leg around his waist pressing his hips against her hips. She let a loud gasp as Derek slid into her. Aurora felt a sharp pain shoot through her body.

"Are you okay baby?" Derek asked staying completely still.

"Mmm hmmm." Aurora managed to mumble.

"Move?" He asked.

"Move." Aurora confirmed griping his biceps.

Derek rocked his hips forward. At first, the sensation that Aurora felt was a dull ache. But after a while Aurora began to feel a bubble of pleasure building in her body. She moved her hands from his shoulders to his back feeling the muscles flex each time he rolled his hips. She pulled his lips to her once more kissing him frantically. Moving from his mouth to his neck Aurora bit down hard on Derek's jugular causing his to slam into her hard.

"Fuck Aurora." He moaned.

She replied with a thrust of her hips.

Sweat began to pool on Derek's chest. His pupils were blown out as he gripped Aurora's thigh for leverage.

"Who do you belong to?" He growled in Aurora's ear.

"You. I'm yours." She moaned.

Derek's thrusts became more sporadic as Aurora felt her body begin to tense.

"Come for me baby." Derek said before running his tongue from her collar bone to her neck.

Aurora felt an orgasm rip through her shouting Derek's name as she climaxed. Derek found his release with one last buck of his hips moaning into Aurora's neck.

"You're amazing." Derek said rolling over to lie next to Aurora.

Aurora smiled turning on her side to look at him.

"I love you." She said meaning every word.

Derek sat up instantly looking straight into her eyes.

"I love you too." Derek replied fondly. Then he kissed her lips like it was the most important thing he could ever do.

When they separated he pulled her head onto his chest and laid back down.

Aurora cuddled close to him feeling her eyelids becoming heavy. She let out a big yawn before she could stop herself.

"Tired?" Derek asked gently rubbing her back.

"Yeah." Aurora admitted. "I'm still having really bad nightmares."

"Try to get some rest. I'll be right here." Derek reassured her.

Between the warmth of his body and the feeling of comfort she had in his arms Aurora fell asleep almost instantly.

**(Author's note: P.S. This is my first time ever writing a sex scene. D: I hope it wasn't too terrible. Sorry if you hated it! My virgin mind tried! LOL)**


	18. Chapter 18

_Author's note: Hey everyone! Sorry for the delayed update. Starting back to school is going to slow me down. :( I'm really sorry! But I will update every chance I get. P.S. Cliffhanger. D: SORRY! D:_

_ENJOY_

Aurora woke up to the sound of rain hitting the roof. It was dark in Derek's room; the only light to be seen was from the digital clock. She could hear the faint sound of the wind whipping around the house. Lying on left side she and could feel Derek's chest pressed firmly against her back. His arm was securely locked around her waist. Derek must have noticed that Aurora was awake because he squeezed her tight.

"Feel better?" He asked softly kissing her temple.

"Much." Aurora smiled feeling completely rested. "I didn't have a nightmare." She said happily turning over to face him.

"I'm glad." Derek said with a grin.

"What time is it?" Aurora asked sitting up to stretch. She pulled the covers over her bare chest immediately, the temperature in the house felt as if it had dropped significantly, which was saying something.

Derek rolled over and switched on the lamp.

"Eight thirty." He said.

"Damn." She giggled.

"You really must have needed some sleep." Derek told her.

"I can't argue with that. I was starting to consider psychiatric help." She teased.

"I'm sorry baby. What are the nightmares about?" Derek asked sitting up next to her.

Aurora wanted to lie but she knew it was no use, Derek would know.

"What if I told you my nightmares were about a very scary, slightly sadistic clown?" Aurora joked trying to lighten the mood.

Derek narrowed his eyes.

"Why don't you want to tell me what they are about?" He asked skeptically.

"They could be about a clown. That shit is scary!" Aurora said completely serious.

She had an irrational fear of clowns and was not afraid to admit it.

Derek fought the urge to chuckle and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm in the woods and something with red eyes is chasing me. I hear this horrible laugh and someone calls my name right before I wake up." Aurora confessed.

Derek was silent.

"They started happening right after I met Alex." Aurora whispered.

"He won't hurt you Aurora. I would never let that happen." Derek said firmly.

"I know Der." She replied leaning over to kiss him.

He brushed her hair out of her face and looked at her fondly.

"Do you mind if I take a shower before we leave?" Aurora asked trying to change the subject.

Derek must have wanted to do the same because he didn't protest.

"Not at all. Make yourself at home." Derek grinned.

"Oh crap. I left my bag in the trunk of my car." Aurora frowned.

"I'll grab it for you. Towels are in the cabinet." He said pointing to the bathroom door.

Aurora pushed the covers off of her body and immediately regretted it.

"It's like Antarctic in here!" She shouted through chattering teeth.

Derek chucked as Aurora sprinted over to the bathroom. When she reached her destination she slid the door open hiding her body on the other side to where Derek could only see her face.

"Glad that you find this amusing Mountain Man." Aurora stammered sticking out her tongue.

It took some effort but he stopped laughing. However, Derek was unable to remove the goofy grin on his face.

"The keys to my car are in the pocket of my sweat pants, ya jerk." She teased before going to close the door.

"Aurora." Derek called making her stop what she was doing.

"Yeah?" She asked looking over at him.

"I love you." He grinned.

Aurora's heart fluttered.

"I love you too Der." She replied before shutting the door and getting in the shower.

The hot water felt amazing. Aurora seriously contemplated staying under it for the rest of the night. However, she didn't think Derek would take kindly to her running up his water bill. She washed her body thoroughly using Derek's body wash. Aurora smiled to herself when she opened the bottle of his shampoo and washed her hair.

'Totally have to make a joke about my hair being as silky as his.' Aurora thought with a giggle.

When she was finished Aurora turned off the shower and grabbed a towel to wrap around her body and put her hair up in a small one. She opened the bathroom door slightly to make sure she didn't walk out of Derek's bathroom in nothing but a towel with someone else in the room. It turned out the coast was clear. Derek was the only one present, sitting in the same spot he had been in when Aurora left. The only difference was that he was now wearing reading glasses, his nose buried in a large book.

"Treasure Island?" Aurora asked in astonishment.

"You've read it?" Derek inquired over the top of the book.

"It's one of my favorite stories." Aurora smiled walking over to her bag which Derek had placed on the end of the bed.

"Of course. Pirates and danger. Why wouldn't it be?" Derek chuckled marking the page he was on and setting the book on the side table.

"Who doesn't like pirates?" Aurora laughed unzipping her bag.

Derek shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

When Aurora opened her bag she pulled out her favorite jeans and a purple long sleeve shirt with a matching bra and pair of lacy underwear. She took the towel off her head and sat it on the end of the bed. Grabbing her brush she made her hair look presentable. When she was done she removed to towel from around her body and went to put on her underwear.

Derek let out a whistle.

"Damn you are sexy, woman." He cat called.

Aurora giggled continuing to get dressed.

"Don't you have a book to read?" She joked.

"With a view like this? Hell no." Derek laughed.

Aurora winked at him before putting on her shirt.

When she was completely dressed Aurora walked over to Derek and sat beside him. She ran her fingers through his hair and kissed him on the forehead.

"I should probably get another shower really fast." He said.

"I'm going to go hangout with Lydia." Aurora told him.

Derek nodded his approval.

**XXXX**

Aurora knocked on Lydia's door.

"Come in!" Lydia called.

When Aurora walked in she found Jackson and Lydia curled up together watching TV.

"So what have you been doing all day?" Lydia asked trying not to giggle. She was referring to Derek and her absence that afternoon.

"Isn't it obvious babe?" Jackson teased.

"We were sleeping." Aurora protested.

Both Lydia and Jackson busted out in laughter.

"Is that what they are calling it these days?" Lydia asked.

"Shut up." Aurora ordered trying to fight her embarrassment. "Has anyone checked on Isaac?"

"Laura has been keeping an eye on him. His wounds are looking better." Jackson informed her.

"That's great!" Aurora said with a smile.

"So I hear you are going to get a tattoo?" Lydia inquired.

"Yes ma'am." Aurora told her.

"I'm too much of a chicken." Lydia confessed. "Aren't you afraid it's going to hurt?"

"Honestly? I haven't given that part much thought." Aurora said slightly worried.

She hadn't thought about how painful it might be.

"Ready to go?" Derek asked appearing at the door.

"Good luck!" Lydia said as Aurora followed Derek out the door.

"Thanks!" She called back.

When they got downstairs Aurora hooked her arm with Derek's as they made their way out to the Camaro.

**XXXX**

When they arrived at the tattoo parlor Derek led Aurora to the back door of the establishment and knocked. A good looking guy, probably about twenty-five years old, answered it within a couple of minutes. He let them in and locked the door behind them.

"Hey, I'm Tyler. You must be Aurora. Derek talks about you non-stop." Tyler said with a smile reaching out for Aurora's hand.

His eyes were a gorgeous sapphire blue and he had short brown hair that was messy but fit his face.

"Hi! Thank you so much for agreeing to this." Aurora replied as she shook his hand. "Non-stop you say?"

Derek huffed.

"No problem. Anything for a friend of Laura and Derek." Tyler beamed. "So, what would you like?"

Aurora explained she wanted her favorite song lyrics in pretty cursive letters between her shoulder blades.

"Write the lyrics down for me and I will sketch it." Tyler told Aurora handing her a piece of paper.

She did so and Tyler his time drawing the design.

"How is this?" He asked holding up the sketch.

"It's perfect!" Aurora said excitedly.

"Great. Let's get started." Tyler smiled.

Tyler led her to a chair and turned the back of it around so he would have a clear work space. Aurora startled the chair, resting her arms on the top while she waited for further instruction.

"I'm going to need you to take off your shirt." Tyler said as he worked to get everything prepared.

Derek who had pulled up a chair in front of Aurora let out a disapproving grumble.

"Knock it off Derek." Aurora scolded taking off her shirt and throwing it at him. "I still have my bra on."

Derek folded Aurora's shirt looking extremely annoyed. Aurora pulled all her hair to her right shoulder and rolled her eyes at Derek.

"It's a wolf thing." Tyler teased. "Territorial instinct. A female in close proximity to two males is always recipe for trouble. Plus it's heightened in Derek because he's the alpha."

Aurora turned her head to face Tyler.

"You're a werewolf too?" She asked curiously.

"That's right." Tyler smiled. "Derek is just protecting his mate. Although, in all honesty I think Derek would be the protective boyfriend even if he wasn't a werewolf." He confessed sitting down in a chair behind Aurora.

"That doesn't surprise me." Aurora giggled looking straight forward at Derek.

"Can you just get to work Dr. Phil?" Derek asked Tyler.

Tyler laughed and opened a needle from a package.

"You ready Aurora?" Tyler asked.

Aurora felt her heart beat pick up. But before she could say anything Derek took her hands in his.

"I'm right here." He smiled.

Aurora took a deep breath.

"Yeah. I'm ready." She said.

Tyler began his work. The sensation wasn't as bad as Aurora expected. It was a dull scratching feeling rather than the excruciating feeling she was convinced she was going to have. It probably helped that Derek was holding her hands. He had a way of calming her down. Tyler told her that it was a good thing she only wanted thin lettering because anything with shading actually hurt.

After what seemed like forever Tyler announced he was finished.

"Go take a look." Tyler said pointing to the full length mirror across the room.

Aurora stood up but immediately sat back down.

"Oh, yeah. I should have probably said slowly." Tyler chuckled. "Your body is exhausted. After all, tattoos are wounds even if they are purposely inflicted."

Aurora got up again, this time with caution. Derek's eyebrows were knotted and he was looking at her like he was going to be there to catch her if she fell.

"I'm okay Der." Aurora reassured him with a pat on his shoulder.

She walked over to the mirror and turned around. Stretching her neck to where she could see her back she examined the new tattoo.

"I love it Tyler! Thank you!" Aurora said excitedly going over to hug the tattoo artist.

He was careful to hug her around the waist so he didn't touch her fresh tattoo. Derek made somewhat of a choking noise at the sight. It took Aurora a minute to remember she wasn't wearing a shirt.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch Mr. Alpha Werewolf Possessive Creeper Man who lives in the Backwoods." Aurora teased releasing Tyler.

"I like this girl." Tyler told Derek with a wide grin.

"Yeah. Me too. I've failed to figure out why though." Derek joked handing Aurora her shirt.

Aurora stuck out her tongue at him.

Tyler chuckled and gave Aurora instructions on how to take care of the tattoo. He then put a bandage over it before letting Aurora get dressed. After she put her shirt back on Derek offered to pay Tyler for his work but he refused.

"You're family Derek. No charge." Tyler said sincerely.

Derek gave him a quick hug and thanked him.

"It was really great to meet you Tyler! Thank you so much!" Aurora told him.

"Great to meet you as well! And you are very welcome. I'll probably see you around. Since your boyfriend and my girlfriend live in the same house." Tyler teased.

Aurora thought a minute.

"Are you Laura's mate?!" She asked excitedly.

"The one and only." Tyler said smugly.

Aurora smiled from ear to ear.

**XXXX**

When Derek and Aurora arrived back to the Hale house it was pouring.

"Dang! I don't think I've ever seen it storm like this before." Aurora panted.

She had run from the car to the house in hope of not getting completely soaked. It didn't work.

"It's pretty bad out there." Derek said taking off his jacket and hanging it on the coat rack.

He then gentle scooted Aurora over to the giant fireplace to get warm. The heat from the flames took away Aurora's chill.

"So did you get it?" Laura asked appearing around the corner.

"I did! Your boyfriend is awesome!" Aurora told her.

Laura smile shyly.

"Eh, he's all right." She joked. "Can I see it?"

Aurora lifted up her shirt and Derek peeled the bandage back for Laura to see.

"Nice!" Laura said.

Derek put the bandage back on and Aurora straightened her shirt. Laura was going to say something else but stopped. Her eyes had gone bright blue and she was staring at the front door. Looking over to focus on what Laura was, Aurora noticed that Derek had turned his body all the way around to face the door as well, his eyes crimson red.

"What is it? What is wrong?" Aurora whispered.

Derek and Laura didn't answer. Before Aurora could blink Hailey, Erica, Boyd, Jackson, and even Isaac had made their way into the living room. They formed a barricade in front of the door staring at the cedar wood intensely. Suddenly it was dark in the house. The only light was from the fireplace and the werewolves glowing eyes.

"The power is out from the storm, right?" Aurora asked frantically.

Everyone was silent.

In the distance Aurora heard the sound of several howls.


	19. Chapter 19

_Author's note: Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews! :) _

_ENJOY!_

"Isaac, I need you to take Aurora upstairs to Lydia's room." Derek growled in the darkness.

"I can fight." Isaac protested.

"I need you to keep Aurora and Lydia safe. Please Isaac." Derek asked still not taking his eyes away from the door.

"Yeah, go take care of my girl. Please buddy?" Jackson added sincerely.

Isaac didn't reply but Aurora felt his hand find her own. He guided her up the stairs making sure she didn't trip. When they got to Lydia's room Isaac opened the door and led Aurora inside.

"Jacks? Please tell me that's you?" Lydia's voice trembled.

"He's downstairs helping Derek. It's me and Isaac." Aurora told her.

Isaac took Aurora over to Lydia who was bundled up in her bed. Lydia's hand soon found Aurora's arm and she pulled her close. Aurora curled up next to her without thinking twice.

"Isaac? Come sit next to me before I have a panic attack." Lydia said frantically.

Aurora felt the bed dip under Isaac's weight as he crawled between her and Lydia. He put his arm around Aurora and she assumed he did the same for Lydia.

"It will be okay. Derek will handle it." Isaac said trying to comfort Lydia.

Aurora couldn't speak let alone express how terrified she was.

She knew Isaac was aware though.

"Aurora, you are safe with me. I would never let anyone hurt you or Lydia." Isaac cooed.

Aurora pressed her head into Isaac's shoulder and took a deep breath. Suddenly there was a loud crash followed by an even louder snarl.

Isaac bolted up.

"Isaac no! Derek said to stay here." Aurora cried.

"They are in the house!" Isaac growled his voice a tone Aurora had never heard.

It was animalistic.

"Stay here and lock the door. I'll be back for you. I just need to make sure everyone is okay." He said and disappeared from the room.

Aurora couldn't blame him. She didn't want to sit there helplessly while Derek and the others were in danger.

There was some shuffling and it sounded like someone was rooting around in a drawer. All of a sudden Aurora was blinded by a bright light.

"Lydia!" Aurora scolded hiding her eyes from the flashlight.

"Sorry! At least we can see now." Lydia said shining the light around the room.

Another loud noise came from downstairs and Aurora heard a howl.

"Is there anything we can defend ourselves with?" Aurora asked hopefully.

"There is a shot gun in Derek's room. But it's for show." Lydia told her.

"It won't affect a werewolf?" Aurora inquired.

"It might slow one down." Lydia mused.

Aurora took the flashlight from Lydia and got out of the bed.

"What are you doing?!" Lydia cried.

"I'm not going to sit here and wait for a werewolf to rip out my jugular." Aurora spat walking toward the door.

Lydia scrambled over to her.

"I'm coming with you." She said firmly.

Aurora really didn't want to argue.

"You'll have to show me where the gun is. I can take it from there." Aurora whispered before they dashed to Derek's room.

Once safely inside Aurora handed Lydia the flashlight and turned to shut and lock the door behind her. She knew it wouldn't do much good against a werewolf but it might prolong her death a little bit.

"Here." Lydia said shining a light at the closet door.

It didn't take Aurora long to find the shot gun Derek had hidden in the back of the closet.

"You know how to use that?" Lydia asked.

Aurora checked to see if the gun was loaded. It was. She cocked the gun and looked at Lydia.

"I'm southern. Of course I do." Aurora teased.

She saw Lydia give her a weak smile.

"All right. Let's do this." Aurora said steadying her breath.

Lydia opened the door for her and she walked out first. Lydia walked behind Aurora, the light from the flashlight illuminating the hallway.

Once downstairs Aurora noticed the front door had been busted open. Splinters of wood were everywhere and it looked like a struggle had ensued.

"Aurora." Lydia said somberly nudging her arm.

Aurora looked over to the hallway that led to the kitchen to see a huge blood stain on the carpet.

Before she had time to think Aurora heard Lydia scream.

She jerked her attention back to the front door to see a large white wolf standing in the doorway. It's teeth were bared and it looked angry. Aurora had just enough time to aim the gun before the wolf lunged. She fired the shot gun hitting the wolf in the chest.

It fell to the floor.

Aurora held her breath and step toward the wolf that lay motionless on the ground. She immediately took a huge step back when she heard a growl.

Lydia let out another blood chilling scream as the wolf got up. Aurora noticed that the wound had already healed. The wolf narrowed its eyes and got ready to pounce.

"Run!" Aurora screamed to Lydia who listened and ran to the sitting room.

The wolf was too fast for Aurora and caught her by the leg. It's claws sank deep into her left thigh as she struggled to crawl away. Aurora let out a painfully cry. The wolf was about to go for her throat when she heard a deep, wall shaking growl. The white wolf was distracted by the sound long enough to be ambushed by Derek. He went straight for the wolf's throat ripping it open with his sharp teeth. The white wolf whimpered and struggled to get free clawing at Derek. If it wasn't for the dark gray wolf that bit Derek's back, Aurora was sure he would have killed the white wolf. Derek turned quickly and attacked the dark gray wolf, clawing at its face. Derek was twice the size of both wolves but he was out numbered. Aurora crawled her way over to the shot gun that she had slung across the floor when the wolf had attacked her. She aimed for the white wolf and shot again. This time the shot had an effect. Aurora figured it was probably because of the profusely bleeding neck wound the wolf had. When the bullet hit the wolf it dropped to its side and whined. Disengaging with Derek the dark gray wolf backed away making sure he didn't turn his back to the alpha. He went over a nudged the white wolf with his nose. She whimpered.

Aurora sat up with some effort and looked at the wound on her leg. She was bleeding extremely bad and she felt lightheaded. Derek backed over to her, also making sure he didn't turn his back to the other wolves. He sat beside Aurora and licked her face whimpering at the sight of the claw marks.

"I'm okay Der." Aurora said weakly.

Just then the dark gray wolf shifted. It was Randal.

"Derek. We are here because of our alpha's orders. I am willing to stop this fight before someone ends up dead. I know Alex would want me to retreat if it meant saving the life of his mate." Randal said motioning to the white wolf.

Tara.

"Your mate is injured as well. Let us leave so you can tend to her." Randal continued his negotiation.

He spoke as if he were a soldier on a battlefield trying to save his troops.

Derek snarled.

"Derek," Aurora whispered scratching him behind his ear, "Let them go. They aren't worth you having their blood on your hands."

Derek looked at her. He was contemplating what she had said. After a few minutes Derek nodded at Randal. Randal nodded back in gratitude and shifted back to a wolf. He nudged Tara to her feet and helped her limp out the front door. Once they were outside, Aurora saw another wolf run up to help Tara. It must have been Arthur. Soon they were out of sight cloaked by the darkness of the woods. Lydia ran up to Aurora and kneeled beside her.

"That looks deep." Lydia said hoarsely.

Aurora fought to remain conscious.

"Go make sure everyone else is okay. Lydia will stay with me until you get back." Aurora told Derek with a light pat on his head.

Derek didn't budge.

"Derek. Make sure your pack is okay." Aurora said more firmly.

He licked her face and gave her an agitated huff before trotting outside.

"You need to get to a hospital." Lydia told her. "Can you stand up?"

"I can barely put a sentence together." Aurora teased trying desperately not to blackout.

She had lost a lot of blood.

"You told Derek you were okay!" Lydia scolded.

"I didn't want him to worry." Aurora shrugged.

Lydia gave her a 'you're an idiot' look but stayed silent.

"Aurora!"

It was Isaac.

"It's okay, Isaac." Aurora tried to reassure him as he rushed to her side.

"I should have never left. I'm so so sorry." He said in a miserable tone.

"Isaac. Your pack needed your help. It's really okay." Aurora told him.

"You are my pack too." He said.

Aurora smiled at him before she lost consciousness.

**XXXX**

When she woke up Aurora was in a hospital bed. Her eyesight was fogging and she had a massive headache. Aurora could feel someone holding her hand. She looked slightly to her right to see Derek, his forehead resting on the bed. His fingers were laced with her own and he looked like he was asleep.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Laura's voice asked from the other side of the bed. She was sitting in a chair alongside Isaac.

Derek's head shot up at the mention of Aurora's consciousness.

"Aurora." He whispered. His voice was thankful.

"Der, it's okay. I'm fine." Aurora said putting her free on his left cheek.

"I was so worried." Derek told her leaning forward to kiss her softly. "You lost a lot of blood. The doctor said you were lucky your femoral artery wasn't torn."

Aurora looked over at her left arm to see an IV.

"Oh gross! I hate needles!" She exclaimed turning her head to face Derek.

"It's okay baby. Just don't think about it." Derek said trying to comfort her.

"I have an irrational fear of needles." Aurora told him trying not to cry.

Derek got up from the chair he was sitting in. He climbed into the hospital bed and snuggled next to Aurora. There wasn't much room for him but he lay on his side pulling Aurora close. She nuzzled her face into his neck.

"I've got you." He whispered.

Aurora took a deep breath and relaxed.

"What hospital are we in?" Aurora asked.

"The one in Glendale. We knew if we took you to the one in Maricopa they would ask a lot more questions." Laura said.

"Yeah. And the sheriff himself would personally interrogate each one of you." Aurora giggled.

"We should have just dealt with the consequences. You could have died because of the extra time it took to get you here." Derek said darkly.

Aurora had a feeling he wasn't the one who suggested taking her across the county line.

"Well look on the bright side little brother, Aurora's not dead and you aren't in jail." Laura told him sourly.

"Seriously Der. I told my parents I was staying at Lydia's house with no mention of you, obviously. If Mr. Walker would have shown up he would have hauled your ass to jail no questions asked." Aurora said looking at Derek's face.

Derek sighed but didn't argue. Aurora had a feeling he was too tired to care at this point.

"What did you guys say happened to me?" Aurora asked curiously.

"We said you were attacked by a wolf." Isaac chuckled. "We just failed to mention it was a werewolf."

"We told them we were camping when it happened. They gave you a rabies shot." Laura told her.

"Probably needed it." Aurora laughed. "Tara is a nasty bitch."

Laura and Isaac chuckled at her joke but Derek was furious. Aurora wanted to ask him what he intended to do about Alex and his pack but she wasn't sure she would like the answer. Aurora wanted Alex out of her life, but she didn't want Derek to deal with him. She had seen first had how Alex didn't play fair. Aurora wouldn't be able to live with herself if Derek got hurt or worse trying to get rid of Alex.

'Is it too much to ask to just make Alex disappear no questions asked?' Aurora thought to herself.

She could see the rage in Derek's eyes and she knew this time he wasn't just going to let Alex's actions go.

"Well visiting hours were over a long time ago but the doctor said we could stay until you were conscious. We should probably go before they kick us out." Laura stated seeing her brother's shoulders tense.

"Did they say how long I have to stay here?" Aurora asked holding onto Derek as tight as she could.

She didn't want him to leave.

"Until tomorrow. But that is with the promise of bed rest and no activity whatsoever." Laura said as if it had been repeated to her multiple times.

"I'll will come get you tomorrow as early as possible." Derek told her with a kiss to her forehead.

Reluctantly he got up from the bed with a huge protest from Aurora.

"Do you have to go?" Aurora pouted.

Derek looked pained.

"Please don't make me feel any worse than I already do. You know I would stay if I could." He said in a defeated tone.

Aurora held out her arms. Derek immediately embraced her leaning over the bed to squeeze her tight.

"I love you Derek." Aurora whispered in his ear.

"I love you too Aurora. So much." He replied.

When he released her from the hug he kissed her lips. It was sweet and beautiful.

Enough so to make Laura and Isaac groan in disgust.

"You two are so cute I want to puke rainbows." Laura taunted.

"I just want to puke." Isaac joked.

Derek gave them a hand gesture.

"Thanks Der. I know I'm number one." Isaac teased his signature adorable smile across his face.

After the three said their final goodbyes Aurora's nurse came in the room.

"I'm going to give you something for the pain. It should help you sleep." The nurse said with a kind smile.

"Thank you." Aurora told her turning to her right so she didn't have a clear view of the needle in her left arm.

About five minutes after the nurse left the medicine kicked in and Aurora fell asleep.


	20. Chapter 20

_Author's note: Thank you all for your reviews! :D _

_Cliffhanger again. I didn't want to end it like that but this chapter was getting really long. D: I'm sure you guys are used to it by now. You're all probably like "This bitch and her cliffhanger." Lol In any case I'm sorry! Hope you like this chapter!_

_ENJOY!_

Aurora awoke to the sound of her heart monitor beeping furiously. She shot up from the hospital bed and found herself in Derek's arms.

"It was a nightmare baby. Just a bad dream. I'm here and you're safe." He said in a soothing voice.

Aurora wrapped her arms tightly around his neck fighting back tears.

"I was so scared." She told him.

He held her until her heart when back to its normal rate.

"Ready to get the hell out of here?" Derek asked.

It was 9:00 Saturday morning.

Derek kept his promise about coming to get Aurora as soon as possible, arriving at the hospital two hours before she woke up. Aurora was thankful because if she woke up from that nightmare alone she would have freaked out even more than she already had.

"Yes sir!" Aurora said.

Just then Aurora's nurse knocked lightly on the door before entering the room.

"Here are you discharge papers." The nurse said sweetly handing Aurora a clipboard.

"Thank you for all your help." Aurora told her with a smile.

"No problem Mrs. Hale. Feel better." The nurse replied before giving Derek a wink and existing the room.

"Mrs. Hale?" Aurora asked raising an eyebrow.

"She told us last night when we brought you in if we weren't family we couldn't stay in the room with you." Derek explained.

"And our lack of wedding rings?" She inquired.

"We took them off to go camping." Derek chuckled. "You didn't want to lose your diamond ring in the woods, did you?"

"Of course not hubby." Aurora smiled wide.

Aurora made it a point to sign her name legibly and neat. She found writing out Hale was far less of a pain than writing out Montgomery. After signing the papers Derek helped her get out of the hospital gown she was wearing and into the clothes he had brought her from her bag at his house. Her shirt wasn't too difficult but Aurora learned quickly that putting on her pants while sitting down was going to be an issue. After a struggle Derek and Aurora managed it though. Thank goodness they were sweat pants. Aurora didn't even want to think about trying to put on her tight fitting True Religion™ jeans. When she was fully dress Aurora made a move to stand up.

"Easy tiger." Derek teased when Aurora had to immediately sit back down. "Wait for the wheel chair."

"I am not using a wheel chair." Aurora protested.

"It's that or I carry you. Cause you aren't walking." Derek stated.

Aurora narrowed her eyes.

"I'm fine Derek. I can walk." She said extremely annoyed.

"Can you?" He asked folding his arms across his chest.

"Yes." Aurora spat.

Derek walked from his place by her bed to the other side of the room.

"If you can walk from your bed over to me I'll let you walk to the car. If you stumble, fall, or even look like you are in any amount of pain it the wheel chair or my arms." Derek said.

Aurora fought the urge to call him a mean name.

"_Fine_, _DAD._" Aurora said sarcastically.

"You can call me daddy if you want to." Derek told her with a smirk.

"You're a dirty bastard." Aurora teased.

She wanted to be angry and Derek was making it difficult, which made her even angrier. Aurora got up again, this time slowly and tried to walk over to Derek. She took a step forward with her right leg which wasn't too bad but when she attempted to put pressure on her left leg she almost collapsed. If it wasn't for Derek's quick reflexes Aurora would have fallen flat on her face.

"Wheel chair?" He asked with a smile holding her up.

"Oh hell no Mountain Man. You are carrying me." Aurora said trying to piss Derek off.

Unfortunately for her it didn't work. Derek wasted little time scooping her up in his arms to carry her bridal style out of the room.

"I hate you." She lied burying her face in the crook of his neck as nurses stared at them as they made their way down the hall that led to the lobby.

"No you don't." He smiled holding her closer.

She made an exasperated sound but kissed his neck. When they got to the Camaro Derek sat Aurora on the hood so that he could open the passenger side door. Before putting her in the seat he took off his leather jacket and handed it to her.

"I can see the goosebumps on your skin from here." He teased.

Aurora quickly put on the jacket and let Derek pick her up and put her in the car. When he shut the door Aurora put on her seatbelt and snuggled into the jacket. She could smell Derek's cologne.

She loved that smell.

"Why are you smiling?" Derek asked her when he got in the driver's seat.

"You make me feel safe." Aurora told him.

Derek grinned at her.

"And you make me the happiest man alive." He told her starting the car.

Aurora leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. As Derek started to drive Aurora felt her eyes start to close. She figured it was the combination of the warmth from Derek's jacket and feeling of comfort she got from being around him that made her fall asleep.

**XXXX**

"Wake up baby." Derek said gently.

Aurora's eyes fluttered open and she realized she was at her house in her own bed.

"You brought me home?" She asked stretching.

"Laura and the others are fixing up the house. I didn't want the noise to bother you. The only reason I woke you up is because you need to take your medicine." Derek told her.

The doctor at the hospital gave Aurora a prescription for Vicodin to help with the pain. Aurora sat up in her bed and took the pill Derek handed to her. Derek then gave her a glass of water to swallow the pill with.

"How long have we been here?" She asked after a large gulp of water.

"Three hours." Derek told.

Aurora could tell that he had been lying next to her because the covers were thrown back and the pillow was turned sideways. Resuming his spot to her right she noticed that he was shirtless.

"Are you allergic to shirts?" Aurora joked laying back down.

Derek leaned over and kissed her, turning so they were stomach to stomach. He was careful not to put any pressure on her left leg.

"I can put it back on, if you want." He said kissing from her lips to her neck.

Aurora threaded her hands in his hair and nipped at his earlobe.

"Blasphemy." She teased.

Derek trailed his hand down her left side stopping at her hip bone. He rubbed circles against her skin making Aurora's body shiver with excitement. She sat up slightly to signal that she wanted Derek to take off her shirt. Stubbornly, he shook his head no. Aurora huffed and removed it herself tossing it to the floor. Digging her nails into the muscles on his back Aurora bit Derek's bottom lip which made him moan before pressing her tongue against his.

"Aurora we can't. I don't want to hurt you." Derek panted breaking the kiss after a while.

"I'll be fine Derek. My leg doesn't hurt that bad." She lied.

"I can tell you're lying." He smiled kissing her collar bone.

"Please Derek?" Aurora said seductively. "I want you so bad." She told him lifting her hips up slightly to rub against his. She could feel Derek's erection.

Derek moaned when Aurora ran her hand down his stomach to his crotch but didn't move.

"Please?" She moaned in his ear.

Giving in, Derek unhooked Aurora's bra and tossed it to the floor to join her shirt. He then trailed his hand down to her left breast, squeezing it gently. He circled his thumb around her left nipple making her moan his name. Derek moved his hand from her nipple down to her stomach until he reached the elastic lining of her sweat pants.

"Derek, come on." Aurora begged.

Derek smiled up at her. He was taking his time. Way too much time if you asked Aurora. Deciding two could play that game, Aurora put her right hand right above Derek's waistline just like he had done on her. Only instead of leaving it on his stomach, she slid her hand past the elastic of his sweat pants and boxers. Derek took in a sharp breath as Aurora brushed her fingertips up his erection slowly.

"Point taken." He lustfully.

Derek kissed her lips before removing her hand. Aurora made a noise of protest.

"Hold on baby." He said before lowering his mouth to her left breast.

His mouth was warm against the sensitive skin as he licked the tip of her nipple. Aurora let out a needy sound that she was almost embarrassed of.

"That's my girl. I want to hear how much you want me." Derek growled making Aurora shudder with pleasure.

He moved from her breast to her stomach leaving a trail of kisses as he went. Aurora grabbed a fist full of his hair as he ran his tongue across her right hip bone. Finally, he slipped his hand past the fabric on her waist cupping her sex before pushing his index finger inside her. Aurora arched her hips wanting more. But before she could tell Derek just exactly want she wanted he removed his hand and sat up.

"What's wrong?" Aurora asked exasperated.

Stopping was the last thing she wanted Derek to do.

"I heard the front door open." He told her scrambling to get up.

"What? Who is it?" Aurora inquired moving as fast as she could to grab her shirt from the floor. She put it on without her bra and sat up in the bed. Her heart was racing.

"Your brother." Derek whispered. "He's walking up the stairs."

Aurora's face turned bright red. Before she could ask Derek what they should do he dropped his pants and shifted. He hopped up on the bed and curled into Aurora's side, taking up the whole length of the mattress.

"Oh yeah great! Now I just have to explain the giant wolf in my room instead of the strange guy!" Aurora scolded in a whisper.

Derek whimpered right before Nathaniel knocked on Aurora's bedroom door.

"Sis?" Nathaniel asked opening the door.

"Hey little brother. Why aren't you at Ben's house?" Aurora inquired.

'And why are you such a cockblocker?!' She thought to herself.

Aurora hoped to God she didn't look as surprised and embarrassed as she felt.

"Holy hell! Is that a wolf?!" Nathaniel exclaimed looking at Derek wide-eyed.

"Don't be silly brat." Aurora teased trying her best to play it cool. "He's a dog. Although, I think he might be part wolf."

"He's ginormous!" Nathaniel said still gawking. "Where did you get him?"

"I found him." Aurora said.

"Is this the stray dog you were talking to that night I found you on the porch?" Nathaniel asked taking a step toward the bed.

"Yep. Nathaniel this is Silky. Silky, Nathaniel." Aurora said introducing the two.

"Silky? Didn't you say he was a boy?" Nathaniel asked incredulously walking over to sit by Derek.

Derek yipped to signal that he agreed with Nathaniel.

"The next person that has something derogatory to say about his name is getting punched in the face." Aurora warned.

Nathaniel laughed and patted Derek on the head.

"Don't worry buddy. We will find something manly to call you." Nathaniel assured Derek.

Aurora wacked Nathaniel with a pillow.

"Are you gonna keep him?" Nathaniel asked. "Dad is gonna flip."

Aurora smiled down at Derek.

"Yeah. I'm gonna keep him." She said scratching behind his ear.

Derek twisted his neck back to lick Aurora's face.

"Aw!" Nathaniel chuckled. "You have dog slobber on your face."

Aurora went to hit him with the pillow again but he knew it was coming this time and dodged.

"Chill out big sis, it's an improvement." Nathaniel joked.

Derek made an incoherent noise. Aurora was pretty sure he was laughing at her. Shooting Derek an "oh shut up" look Aurora turned her attention back to her brother.

"You never answered my question brat. What are you doing home? I told you I didn't want you here by yourself." Aurora said seriously.

"I saw your car in the driveway. I knew you were here." Nathaniel told her.

Aurora thought maybe either Laura or Isaac must have driven her car to the house so she wouldn't have to come get it later.

"Why aren't you at your friend's house? Mom and dad said they didn't want us here alone." Nathaniel mocked.

"Shut up butt munch. I don't feel good." Aurora said and it wasn't a lie.

She had started to feel lightheaded and her leg hurt even after taking the pain pill.

"Yeah, you look really pale." Nathaniel observed. "Do you need me to get you anything?"

"Nah, I just need to rest." Aurora said.

Nathaniel patted Derek's head before getting up to leave.

"Let me know if you need anything big sis. I'll be in my room." Nathaniel told her.

"Thanks baby bro." Aurora called as Nathaniel shut the door behind him.

She let out a sigh of relief.

After a few minutes, when he thought the coast was clear, Derek shifted back. Aurora was pretty sure she was never going to get used to watching Derek transform from a wolf to a human or vice versa for that matter.

"I like him." Derek said referring to Nathaniel.

"You would." Aurora teased.

She ran her hand through his hair and pulled him toward her.

"Absolutely not." He said wiggling out of her grip.

He got up from the bed and put on his pants.

"Derek." Aurora whined.

"You are pale as a ghost Aurora. And I can tell you're in pain." Derek told her. "Trust me baby, I hate to say no." He said laying back down beside her.

Aurora huffed.

"Stop throwing a temper tantrum and go to sleep." Derek ordered.

"Bite me." Aurora challenged.

Derek leaned over and bit down softly on her neck.

"Go to sleep." He laughed as Aurora slapped him on the ass.

"Fine!" She said grumpily.

The truth was she didn't have the energy to argue anymore. Her leg was throbbing and she felt sick to her stomach.

"I'll be here when you wake up." Derek reassured her.

Aurora rolled over carefully so that she could rest her head on Derek's chest. She fell asleep to him rubbing her back.

**XXXX**

It was dark outside when Aurora woke up again.

"Hey baby." Derek said.

"Hey Der. What time is it?" She asked sleepily.

"Nine." He told her.

"Holy crap!" Aurora exclaimed.

"Nathaniel is making dinner. Smells like pizza." Derek said turning on the lamp next to the bed.

"I'm so jealous of your Superman nose." Aurora giggled.

"You should go eat something." Derek said with a smile.

Aurora was starving. She hadn't eaten all day. No food plus pain pills was not a good combination.

"What about you?" She asked.

"I'll sneak out the front door while you guys are in the kitchen." Derek informed her.

"Where did you park the Camaro?" Aurora inquired.

She was wondering why Nathaniel didn't mention seeing a strange car outside their house.

"Around the corner. I'm sneaking." Derek teased.

"Apparently. You carried me from your car to the house?" Aurora asked.

"Yep." Derek said.

Aurora shook her head in disbelief.

"Stealthy." She laughed.

Derek gave her a wink and got up to put his shirt on.

"I'll text you when I get home. I put your phone on the charger." Derek said pointing over to the table beside her bed where her cell phone sat. "And your bag is on the computer chair."

"Thanks babe." Aurora said slowly getting up from the bed.

She put as much weight as she could on her bad leg and limped over to Derek who was standing in front of her bed.

"Be careful on your way home." She told him putting her arms around his neck.

Derek held her up so that she didn't have to put pressure on her wounded leg.

"I will. I love you." He said with a smile.

Aurora kissed him.

"I love you too." She replied.

After telling him goodbye Aurora left Derek in her room and headed for the kitchen. The plan was for her to distract Nathaniel long enough so that he didn't hear the front door open. She made her way down the stairs one step at a time. She had to stop half way to rest her leg. Finally making it to the bottom, Aurora hobbled to the kitchen.

"Are you okay?" Nathaniel asked as he saw Aurora fall onto a chair at the kitchen table.

"I'm good." Aurora lied trying to hold back the pained look she wanted to make.

She was wearing her sweat pants so Nathaniel couldn't see the bandage the doctor had put on her leg.

"Pizza?" Nathaniel asked taking the store bought frozen pizza out of the oven.

Aurora felt her stomach growl.

"Heck yes!" She told him.

**XXXX**

When Aurora got back up to her room she had a text from Derek.

**To: Princess**

**From: Mountain Man**

_I'm home, gorgeous._

She smiled at her phone and replied.

**To: Mountain Man**

**From: Princess**

_Okay baby. I'll talk to you tomorrow._

**To: Princess**

**From: Mountain Man**

_Good night Princess. Sweet dreams._

**To: Mountain Man**

**From: Princess**

_Night Der!_

Aurora sat her phone down on the table next to her bed and laid down. She had just closed her eyes when she heard the text message alert go off. She figured it was Derek but when she looked at the screen it said unknown number. Aurora opened the text.

**To: Aurora**

**From: Unknown Number**

_You never told me you had such a pretty best friend._

Aurora felt a lump form in her throat.

**To: Unknown Number**

**From: Aurora**

_Who the hell is this? If you go anywhere near Elizabeth I promise I'll make you regret it._

**To: Aurora **

**From: Unknown Number**

_I love how feisty you are Aurora. Too bad Derek got to you first. We would make an excellent couple._

Aurora felt sick.

**To: Unknown Number**

**From: Aurora**

_Alex? You son of a bitch. What have you done with Elizabeth?_

As soon as the text was sent Aurora hit speed dial one on her phone and prayed for Elizabeth to answer. After seven rings it when to voicemail.

"Elizabeth! Please call me back as soon as you can." Aurora told the recorder urgently.

When she hung up she saw she had another text.

**To: Aurora**

**From: Unknown Number**

_A pretty girl like you shouldn't use such bad language. Elizabeth can't answer her phone right now, so calling again would be useless._

**To: Unknown Number**

**From: Aurora**

_Alex I swear if you hurt her I will hunt you down._

**To: Aurora**

**From: Unknown Number**

_You don't have to hunt me down darlin'. I'll tell you where I am. On one condition._

Aurora had a feeling she knew what the condition was.

**To: Unknown Number**

**From: Aurora**

_What?_

**To: Aurora**

**From: Unknown Number**

_Don't contact Derek or the police. I'll know if you do. Randal is keeping an eye on you. If you come to see me alone I wouldn't hurt a hair on Elizabeth's head. _

**To: Unknown Number**

**From: Aurora**

_Fine. Where are you?_

Alex sent her a message with an address and then another text with a taunt.

**To: Aurora**

**From: Unknown Number**

_See you soon beautiful._

Aurora fought the urge to reply with a rude comment. She got dressed as fast as she could and bolted downstairs. The pain from her leg was blinding but she fought through it.

"Where are you going?" Nathaniel inquired.

He was sitting on the couch watching TV in the living room.

"I'm craving some ice cream." Aurora lied grabbing her jacket from the closet.

"Ooo! Can you get me some chocolate?" Nathaniel asked.

"Sure baby brother." Aurora smiled weakly. "I'm going to stop by Lizzie's first so it might take me awhile."

"Okie dokie." Nathaniel told her.

Aurora went out the front door and limped to her car that was parked in the driveway. She sat in the driver's seat and silently thanked God it was her left leg that was injured and not her right. It would have been even more difficult to drive if she had to put pressure on her wounded leg. She started the car and looked at Alex's text with the directions. Aurora recognized them at second glance. They led out to an abandoned shack out in the woods at the base of the mountains. When she had been dating Dylan her and a couple of their friends, Elizabeth included went out to the shack. It was supposedly haunted and like most stupid teenagers they wanted to check it out. Of course all they found was a broken down wooden house completely ghost free but the place still gave Aurora the creeps. She put the car in drive and headed to the location Alex had told her to go to.

'If Alex doesn't kill me, my boyfriend is going to.' Aurora thought as she put her foot down on the gas pedal.

It took everything she had not to pick up the phone and call Derek.

TO BE CONTINUED


End file.
